


The Thunder Clan

by GigaBowserNS



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Anxiety, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fights, Fish out of Water, Forests, Love, M/M, Survival, Training, Wilderness, Wilderness Survival, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-03-17 08:14:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 298,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13655040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GigaBowserNS/pseuds/GigaBowserNS
Summary: Roxy the Pikachu is not part of a Pokémon Trainer's team. She does not take part in Pokémon battles. No, she is happy to spend her days relaxing at home and enjoying the company of her loving human master. So when Roxy somehow ends up in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by dangerous wild Pokémon, suffice to say her entire world is flipped upside-down.





	1. Master and Me

"Roxy! It's time for supper!!"  
  
Ears perked up. A tail twitched. Roxy poked her head up from the grass and looked towards the grandiose house. The young Pikachu smiled excitedly upon hearing the word 'supper', her heart-shaped tail wagging eagerly.   
  
"Pikaaa!!" she shouted before she started sprinting across the lawn towards the back porch of the house. Slightly smaller than the average Pikachu though she may have been, she was quite an agile creature and was crossing the length of the humongous back lawn in a matter of seconds.  
  
Her lithe yellow body darted across the dewy blades of grass, perfectly trimmed and cared for. So perfectly cultivated it was that her little yellow paws didn't disturb an inch of the beautiful lawn. Her paws and her underside got a little wet, compliments of the early autumn rains they had been getting lately, but it was no bother to her. It felt kind of nice and cool amidst the weather that was still a little humid and warm.  
  
Roxy left the seemingly endless rows of flowers, plants and trees behind her as she hurried towards the house. The perfect playground for a young Pokémon, offering seemingly no end of beautiful, colourful sights to behold. Roxy didn't cast a second glance back, however. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment.  
  
For there, standing on the porch with a big welcoming smile on her face, was Roxy's master. The young human girl, 14 years old, was Roxy's entire world. A creature of fair complexion with a head of long brown hair, which Roxy had learned was not called 'fur'. Her kind, optimistic nature was visible even with a simple glimpse into her deep blue eyes. The girl's name was Dustin, and sometimes preferred to go by 'Dusty', but to Roxy she would always be 'master'.  
  
Her master had been there when she had first hatched. Just a tiny little Pichu, barely able to open her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her master. Roxy couldn't remember a time without her. The two had been inseparable for her entire life. The little child grew into a young girl and Roxy evolved into a Pikachu, but still they had always been together. Simply thinking of her master, or imagining her voice, was enough to bring a warm smile to Roxy's face.  
  
The excited Pikachu took a huge leap and sailed through the air into her master's waiting arms. She hugged and nuzzled her master affectionately, loving the wonderful closeness of the embrace. Her master cradled her expertly with her arms and hugged right back.  
  
"Are you hungry, girl?"  
  
"Pikaa!"  
  
Her master giggled and patted her on the head. "What were you doing out there?"  
  
"Pika Pika!" she enthusiastically replied, telling her master about all the clouds she had been watching and the boats she had seen down in the harbour. It was a beautiful day, though it would probably be the last one of the year. Summer was drawing to a close.  
  
Dustin gave the little Pikachu a gentle squeeze and said, "I love you Roxy."  
  
"Pi Pi~!"  
  
"Let's go! Daddy made you your favourite!"  
  
One could almost see the stars dancing in Roxy's eyes. "Pika…?!"  
  
Her master giggled. "Yes, Roxy. Razz Berry Poké Puffs! Plus your favourite Poké food!"  
  
Roxy started hugging her master all over again. "Pika Pi!!" There was a warmness in her heart that she couldn't describe. She was so lucky. Her master loved her so much and cared for her in every way possible. Living with her was like forever being swaddled in a warm, snug blanket. In fact, it wasn't just her master but also her master's father who treated her so well. Roxy had no idea who her own parents were, but she didn't care in the least. As far as she was concerned, her master's family was her family.  
  
Her master idly adjusted the black collar that the young Pikachu wore. It was simple, comfortable and made of fine leather. There was nothing fancy like jewelry or glitter on it, just a simple gold-coloured tag with her name on it. Roxy loved to wear it with pride. It went nicely with the red flower she wore behind her ear.  
  
Her master started walking towards the expansive house's dining room, so Roxy scrambled up to sit on her shoulder. In truth it was more like 'hanging off of' her shoulder, but both of them seemed to enjoy it. Roxy preferred to be close to her loving master, and being right up on her shoulder was the best seat in the house. She could feel her master's warmth and listen to her delightful laugh. Then again, on nights when Roxy was simply exhausted, it felt just heavenly the way her master would cradle her like a newborn cub until she eventually drifted off to sleep.  
  
The two entered the dining room, and all of Roxy's features perked up at both the sights and smells. Dinner was served! Her master took a seat at the large, ornate table, and Roxy hopped off and sat down nearby. She was so happy that neither her master nor the father minded that she was up on the table.  
  
Her master's family was quite rich. Granted, Roxy only had a basic understanding of the way humans interacted using what they called 'money', but it was clear that they had a lot of it. Compared to other human families she had seen here and there, Roxy's house was much larger and much prettier. There was always an abundance of stunningly delicious food, trinkets and toys, as well as the best pampering and grooming a Pikachu could ask for.  
  
"This looks great, daddy!" her master exclaimed, marvelling at the selection of food.  
  
The father, named Desmond, chuckled. "I'm glad you approve, Dusty. Yes, some of those callous fools might see me as one of those crotchety old uptight guys who can't do anything more than drink champagne, but I do know how to cook."  
  
Her master giggled. "It smells really good, daddy. Can we start eating?"  
  
Desmond chuckled again. "Well, it looks like Roxy's ready for dinner."  
  
The Pikachu squealed as she was hugged by her master once again, not hesitating to hug right back. Dinner smelled lovely, but hugging her master was a treat she would never tire of.  
  
So, the family of three began eating. The table was much too large for such a small number of occupants, but that didn't stop the three of them from enjoying each other's company. The house was sometimes occupied with other humans who did things for the family, like watering the garden or cleaning up the rooms, but the three of them were the only ones who actually lived there. At first Roxy had thought the house was too big for such a small, close family, but now she couldn't imagine living anywhere else.  
  
Roxy idly listened as her master and Desmond talked about a lot of things. Roxy had a fairly strong grasp on the human language. Though she couldn't speak it, she was able to understand most of the things they said.   
  
"She wants to come over on Tuesday," her master was saying, "Is that okay?"  
  
"Dusty my dear, all of your friends are welcome here whenever they would like."  
  
Her master smiled gratefully. "Thanks, daddy. I'll let her know she can come."  
  
Roxy looked up at her master and smiled. There were a few other 'rich' families that they sometimes went to visit. Almost all of them, unfortunately, shared the same kinds of personalities. They were always uptight, irritable, and didn't know how to have fun. Even those families' Pokémon acted like that sometimes.  
  
So, it was both relieving and refreshing to see that her master could maintain such a pleasant and humble attitude. Roxy knew that human money could be used to get and do almost anything. It was like a source of power for some of them, but her master didn't see it like that. Roxy was glad for this. She would hate to see her master turn into that ugly human female with the Purrloin.  
  
Roxy happily munched on her Poké Puff, squealing with delight at the wonderful taste. She tried to keep her paws clean while she ate, but it was difficult when she was so focused on the amazing taste of her treats. By the time dinner was finished, Roxy was stuffed and satisfied.  
  
When her master got up from the table, Roxy wasted no time in deftly hopping up onto her shoulder once more. Her master laughed and gave her a few scratches behind the ear.  
  
"So, you wanna go back outside? Or d'you wanna come help me study?"  
  
"Pika!" she replied enthusiastically, pointing towards the living room to indicate that she preferred the second option.  
  
"Okay!" her master replied, "I'm always glad for the company, sweetie!"  
  
The two made their way into the lavish living room, complete with a big couch, plush carpeting and a large TV. Roxy hopped onto one of the couch's armrests while her master walked over to the nearby bookshelf and picked up one of the books.  
  
Roxy's master didn't go to school anymore. She used to, but it was decided that she had enough money to her family's name that there was no rush needed for her education. That being said, she still made it a point to study something at least once a day. The bookshelves were stocked with books on all sorts of subjects.  
  
This, in a way, was how Roxy learned a lot about the outside world, human or otherwise. Ever since she had figured out how to read human writing, one of her favourite things to do was to look over her master's shoulder while she read from one of those books.  
  
Her master walked over to the couch and sat upon it, leaning herself back against the armrest where Roxy was sitting. She used her legs to prop the book up and open it, leaving it in a perfect spot for the both of them to read.  
  
Today, her master had picked up the book that was a favourite to the both of them. It was a textbook encyclopedia that outlined all of the major zoological aspects of Pokémon. The two of them had read it cover to cover at least four times. Thanks to this book, Roxy knew a lot about the Pokémon world even though she had hardly seen it.  
  
Roxy knew that most Pokémon that lived with humans took part in Pokémon battles. The world was full of a number of Pokémon Leagues and other various competitions and championships. Desmond had once been a well-known Pokémon trainer, though he was now retired and all of his partners lived elsewhere on a Pokémon ranch far away.  
  
Roxy, however, had never been in a Pokémon battle. She had hardly even seen them, except for a few times on TV. Roxy had been treated kindly and lovingly by her master ever since she had hatched, and her master had absolutely no interest in being a Pokémon trainer.   
  
"Look, Roxy! It's you!" Her master had been flipping through the pages and had stopped at the one describing the Pikachu species.  
  
"Pi Pikachu!!"  
  
Her master giggled and then continued until she reached the section she was looking for. It seemed that today, her master was going to study the "T" section.  
  
A 'pet' is what Roxy was. She had learned the term and her master had helped her understand it. A pet was a Pokémon that didn't take part in Pokémon battles, contests or other sporting events. They were Pokémon who simply lived in a house with humans and were friends with them, and Roxy was happy to call herself her master's pet.  
  
Roxy's eyes scanned the pages alongside her master. The two remained in silence for a moment, studying entries on things such as the legendary Terrakion, the Telekinesis move, and the Technician ability. Roxy was fascinated by the way humans classified the things Pokémon could do. Almost every natural, latent ability that could be performed could be classified as either a move or an ability. She also knew that anything _not_ classified as such generally wasn't allowed in any Pokémon battles or contests.  
  
Her master turned the page. "Pikachu!!" Roxy exclaimed excitedly, pointing her paw at the book.  
  
"Yes," her master giggled, "You're familiar with these ones, aren't you?"  
  
Roxy scanned over the pages once more, looking at entries for Thunder, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave and other such moves. Most of the 'Electric'-type moves were grouped together here because of their similar names. Roxy was delighted to see that a lot of them had an example illustration featuring a Pikachu.  
  
"So, Roxy…" her master spoke, "Which is the one that doesn't miss when it's raining?"  
  
"Pika!" Roxy answered immediately, pointing to the 'Thunder' entry.  
  
"That's right! Good girl!"  
  
Roxy chirped and nuzzled her master's cheek.  
  
"Haha…You're such a sweetie. I guess we're lucky that you don't have 'Static'."  
  
Roxy smiled brightly. She knew what her master meant. Most Pikachu were so charged with electricity that they could potentially cause paralysis just by touching someone else. This was known as the 'Static' ability. However, not every Pikachu had 'Static', and Roxy was one such Pikachu.  
  
"Pika…!" Roxy prided herself on her slowly growing knowledge of Pokémon information. She could name almost every species just by looking at a picture, even some of the ones that weren't native to where they lived. She knew every Electric attack by heart, and was memorizing more and more moves and abilities every time they studied.   
  
"Toxic Spikes…" Her master had moved on from the 'thunder' moves, but Roxy was still enraptured. She knew every type and how their abilities tended to match up in battle, but also knew which moves looked the most spectacular and usually wowed judges at contests. Her master didn't always study from this book, but when she did Roxy was there to read every word along with her.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
About an hour later, their study session was over and Roxy's master closed the book. She sighed and said, "I think we both did a pretty good job today. Don't you?"  
  
"Pika!!"  
  
She stood up and walked over to the bookshelf where she placed the book back in its proper spot. She then paused and glanced around the room for a moment. "Wanna watch a little TV?"  
  
Roxy didn't vocally respond but gave her master a smile and a twitch of her ears. Television wasn't all that much of a hobby for either of them, but a little here and there was enjoyable. Her master nodded, picked up the remote, and then sat back down on the couch. Roxy hopped off the couch and sat down on the floor halfway between the couch and the TV so she could get a better view.  
  
A moment later, the TV came to life. Roxy giggled to herself, remembering a very, very young Pichu who had been terrified at the sight of the bright colours coming from the big, grey box. Thanks to her master's books, Roxy now knew what a TV was and how it worked.  
  
"-is down to the last Pokémon. A knockout here will spell the end for the challenger!" a loud announcer's voice blared from the speakers.  
  
The channel they had tuned in to had happened to be broadcasting a Pokémon battle. From the looks of the stadium and the crowd, this was definitely some sort of high-stakes competition.  
  
The broadcast had been showing the face of valiant, but nervous, trainer for a few moments, but then quickly cut to the battlefield. Roxy's ears perked up as she saw who was sparring.   
  
One of the combatants was a Nidoking, scuffed with dirt and minor injuries and looking like he had been in the battle for quite a bit of time already. The other was a Jolteon, who looked freshly energized and ready to battle. Roxy's eyes drifted down to the on-screen information, seeing that the previously-seen trainer had only one Pokémon left, while his opponent had two.  
  
The Nidoking and Jolteon were deep in the heat of battle. They were both constantly moving, each one dodging and attacking at the most optimal time. It was clear that these were highly-trained Pokémon who were veterans of the battlefield.  
  
Roxy watched the Jolteon, following it as it used its much higher speed to dart around its opponent. Nidoking was having difficulty landing any strikes. She watched as the Jolteon fired bright white needles from its fur, the move known as Pin Missile, before leaping into the air and coming down on the Nidoking with a mighty Double Kick.  
  
Her master spoke up, though Roxy didn't tear her eyes from the screen. "Roxy! Do you know why the Jolteon isn't using its Electric attacks?"  
  
Roxy glanced back for a moment, and then replied. "Pika Pika!" she said, tapping the floor next to her with her paw.  
  
"That's right. It's a 'Ground' type. Electricity doesn't work."  
  
She watched the battle for a few more minutes, noticing that the Jolteon didn't seem to be slowed down by this handicap. It seemed to know a lot of different moves, such as Shadow Ball and Flash. Pokémon who knew how to properly perform more than four moves were uncommon, and indicated that they had been training with their trainers for a long while.  
  
The Nidoking finally collapsed to the ground, disappearing in a red light as his trainer returned him to his Poké Ball. Roxy shuddered as she watched. The opposing trainer's last Pokémon was then released. Roxy's ears perked up as she saw that it was a Braixen. No less than a few seconds later, the Jolteon had already darted forward and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt.  
  
Roxy watched the electricity dance through the air. Bright yellow beams, so bright they were almost pure white, lancing across the battlefield almost too quickly to see. They struck the Braixen, making it tense up and shout loudly in pain. She hadn't even heard the trainer say 'Thunderbolt', but she knew what it was. Electricity was what her species was known for, after all.  
  
Being a pet for her whole life, Roxy did not know many official Pokémon moves besides the simple stuff like Tackle and Scratch. She knew how to control her electricity, and had even come in handy during a few power outages, but did not know how to form a Thunderbolt or a Thunder Wave. In fact, the _strongest_ thing she could do with her electricity would not end up doing much damage in a hypothetical battle scenario. The little spark of electricity she could create had lovingly been dubbed by her master as 'Thunder Jolt'.  
  
That was okay to Roxy, though. She had never battled in her life and never planned to. Furthermore, she was certain that her master had no aspirations of becoming a _Pokémon_ Master. She was quite content with the way she was.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
After they got bored of watching TV, both Roxy and her master had decided to take a stroll through the gardens. Roxy had just been doing this earlier, but was more than happy to do it again with her master. She smiled blissfully and enjoyed the sights, scents and the last fleeting moments of summer heat.  
  
After a bit of a walk, they returned to the lawn just behind the house. "So, Roxy…" her master spoke, "Show me your trick. Have you been practicing?"  
  
"Pika!" Roxy replied affirmatively and jumped off of her master's shoulder. She made her way to the middle of the lawn, watching as her master backed away to watch.  
  
Roxy then took a deep breath and calmed herself, holding in the air for a moment before letting it out with an accompanying sweep of her paws. She cleared her mind and focused, blocking out all outside distractions. She remained that way for a solid minute or two, focusing entirely on the strange fleeting energy that was so difficult to grasp.  
  
Her hind paws tingled as she felt the energy and gathered it. It was so thin and it felt like it wasn't there, but Roxy was well acquainted with what she was looking for. She could feel it building within her four limbs and even in the tip of her curved tail. The grass rustled, though there wasn't a trace of wind in the air.  
  
Roxy clenched her eyes shut in concentration for a moment, then opened them and shouted out. "Pikaa!!" she exclaimed with a thrust of her front paws. Simultaneously, the lawn below her exploded outwards with long, twisted blades of grass. They spread out around her like a green floral pattern, glowing just slightly with green energy.  
  
The breath she had been holding rushed out of her, and in the span of only a few seconds the twisted blades of grass shrunk back into the ground. Roxy was sweating and lightly panting, but she stood tall and proud. That had been her best one yet!  
  
Her master seemed to agree because she was applauding. "Wow, Roxy! Way to go, sweetie!"  
  
"Pikaa…!"  
  
Moments later, she was swept up off the ground into a warm hug by her master. Roxy sighed and melted into the embrace.  
  
"You're getting really good with your Grass Knot," her master commented, "Most Pokémon don't usually get this good with TM moves."  
  
Roxy smiled proudly. She still remembered that day, not long after she had evolved into a Pikachu. It was the human holiday known as Christmas, and her master has received a gift from some distant relative whom she barely knew. Inside of the box had been a strange-looking green disc.  
  
It had been a Technical Machine, more commonly known as a TM. Roxy was familiar with them thanks to her master's books, or at least what their purpose was. Trying to understand how they actually _worked_ only made her head spin. Regardless, she knew that trainers would often trade them and use them to help their team members learn new moves.  
  
Of course, Roxy and her master had no interest in learning any moves for Pokémon battles. However, it had been a free gift after all, and Desmond still owned one of the devices that TMs were used with. Thus, the family had decided to give it a try anyway.  
  
It was hard to describe exactly what had happened after that device had cloaked her in a green light for a few minutes. All Roxy knew was that afterwards, she was more acutely aware of a sensation that she hadn't noticed before. It was faint and she had to focus to find it, but it was there. If Roxy had to guess, it was probably some kind of 'natural' energy, the kind that Grass type Pokémon could harness.  
  
She had still needed to practice using this energy to bend the blades of grass to her will, but before long she had learned how to perform Grass Knot. From there, taking a page from Pokémon Contests, Roxy and her master decided to hone the skill so that it looked presentable and fantastic. The two enjoyed showcasing this talent to visitors.  
  
That being said, Roxy still did not have the faintest notion of how to use the move in a battle, but it didn't matter because she didn't intend to.   
  
The only downside was that using the move left her exhausted. Once again thanks to textbooks, Roxy was familiar with the moves that Pikachu were capable of naturally learning, and Grass Knot wasn't one of them. Such was the wonder of TMs, it seemed. If nothing else, Roxy could say that she was proud she could pull it off.  
  
"Wanna stroll through the gardens or go back inside?"  
  
Roxy smiled warmly and pointed her paw towards the gardens.  
  
"Okay, sweetie."  
  
A contented sigh escaped the Pikachu's lips. Her master was so great, carrying her through the gardens like this because she was so exhausted. Life was truly wonderful. Roxy couldn't remember a sour day on her calendar for a long, long time. The bond that she shared with her master was unbreakable, and every day was brighter than the last when they were together.  
  
The sun began to set, casting a warm golden glow across the flowers and trees. Roxy wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she knew that it was in the comfort of her loving master's arms.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Is that- Are those- Ohmigosh, daddy! You got them??"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up and she slowly opened her eyes. Morning had dawned, bringing with it a brand new day. The Pikachu yawned and stretched her limbs, feeling the fatigue melt off of her body. She felt refreshed and energized after a long night's sleep.  
  
"Roxy! Guess what!!"  
  
She perked up in surprise, suddenly finding her master's face inches away from hers. "Pika?"  
  
Her master held up two long, thin pieces of paper. "We're going to Kalos!!" she exclaimed.  
  
Roxy's eyes widened, but she also tilted her head. "Pika…?" Roxy knew what Kalos was; it was a continent that was very far away from their own. But what did her master mean by 'going there'?"  
  
"Daddy just bought us tickets! Look!" her master continued, clearly excited about the whole situation, "I've always wanted to spend some time in Kalos during the fall when all the tourists are gone! Even so, everything in Kalos is usually booked solid for months and months! I can't believe daddy managed to find us tickets!!"  
  
"Pika Pi Pika?" Roxy was starting to get the picture.  
  
"Yeah! We're all gonna go! You, me and daddy! Vacation in Kalos!"  
  
Roxy's eyes lit up as she drank in this information. A vacation, and all the way over in Kalos? Kalos was _far_ away. The family had taken vacations before, but never any further than the neighbouring continent at the most. Going to Kalos would mean they would have to take an airplane.  
  
"We're gonna leave in two weeks, Roxy!" her master exclaimed, still unable to hide her glee.  
  
"Pika!" Roxy chimed in, sharing some of the excitement with her master. It was definitely a surprise, and rather sudden, but going to Kalos with her master would definitely be something exciting. She had read so much about Kalos and all of the unique Pokémon that lived there.  
  
"Aaaah!" Her master squealed, reaching down and picking Roxy up in her hands. She stood up and twirled on the spot, holding Roxy out at arm's length and smiling uncontrollably. "I'm so excited! I can't wait! Aren't you excited, Roxy?!!"  
  
"Pikachu!!"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It was a few days later, and Roxy was laying on the comfy cushions on the couch. Though the trip was still about 10 days away, Desmond and her master had already been frantically packing and preparing. There wasn't a lot Roxy could to do help, so she spent her free time running through the gardens. Now she was feeling worn out and taking a nice, relaxing break.  
  
"You must conveence her to take you to zee top of zee tower."  
  
Roxy idly glanced over the edge of the couch, looking at the other occupant of the room. The Furfrou belonged to a friend of the family, decorated with green colours and a dandy hat shape of fur on his head. Desmond and the Furfrou's master were in the kitchen and had been talking for hours, but Roxy didn't mind. Cédric was always good company.  
  
"Zee sights of _Illumis_ from up above are _trés fantastique_ ," he said, the thick accent betraying where he had been born.  
  
Roxy gave him a look. "You mean Lumiose?" she asked.  
  
"Ah, _oui_. I forget zat is what you call eet."  
  
It was nice to talk to another Pokémon every now and again. Roxy and her master could communicate on a level that went beyond verbal expressions, but it was also pleasant to speak to someone who could understand her language.  
  
"That's where you were hatched, right?" Roxy asked.  
  
" _Oui_. Lumiose, zee grand star of Kalos shall always be my 'ome. I am pleased to 'ear zat is where you and your family will be staying. Zere is no shortage of zs'ings to do in _beau Illumis_."  
  
"Yeah…" Roxy mumbled.  
  
Cédric rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I am jealous, _mon amie_. I wish to see Kalos again…"  
  
"Yeah…" she repeated, her paws idly playing with her collar.  
  
The Furfrou gave her a look. "Are you not excited? You are so blessed, _mon amie_. Zee endless beauty of zee land awaits you."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "No, no. I'm excited. It's just…We, um…We have to go on a plane…"  
  
Cédric nodded. " _Oui_. And?"  
  
She glanced away and fiddled with her front paws. "They don't let Pokémon on planes. I have to go into my Poké Ball…"  
  
"Ugh…" Cédric replied with a toss of his head, " _Oui_ , eet ees such a bother, no? Such stuffy, boring zs'ings zey are. Zee less time I spend in zere, see better."  
  
Roxy simply had a troubled look on her face, nervously glancing at Cédric and around the room.  
  
The Furfrou's eyes opened wider. "Oh! Oh, _cherie_ , you must forgive me. I 'ave forgotten"  
  
"It's okay, Cédric," Roxy replied quietly with a demure smile.  
  
"I apologize, Roxy. My mind, eet slip. You are afraid of zee Poké Ball, no? You have zee…phobia?"  
  
Roxy nodded subtly, a frown returning to her face. "I hate that thing…I get so scared when I'm inside it. Even though I see this open meadow and I can move around, I…It just doesn't _feel_ like I can move. I know I'm inside the Ball and I know I'm not really moving. The outside world is blurry and hard to pay attention to, so it makes me feel like I'm half-blind."  
  
Cédric nodded. " _Oui_ , I understand your feelings."  
  
"Not to mention," Roxy continued, sitting herself up, "For airplane rides you have to put the Poké Ball in stasis mode so that it can withstand the changing pressure. It's like being knocked unconscious!" A visible shudder passed through her entire body.  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
"I…I'll have no idea what's going on around me. If something happens, I won't even know. How…How do I know what's going to happen after I go inside that thing?"  
  
"Roxy, you must relax. You must stay calm and trust your master. _Mon amie_ , I know you trust your master, no?"  
  
The Pikachu sighed, hugging herself gently. "I do…"  
  
"She will put you in zee Ball only because she must, and she will get you out as soon as she can. Noszing can go wrong…And even so, when eet go wrong your master will do everysing to protect you."  
  
Roxy looked at Cédric for a few moments, continuing to frown.  
  
"Roxy…" Cédric spoke in a calming tone, "Your master would not do zis eef eet were not safe for _vous_. Get s'rou zee airplane and zen enjoy zee sights of Kalos. _Mon amie_ , you will be spending zee entire time s'inking about 'ow jealous I am."  
  
That last remark managed to make Roxy smile and giggle a little. "You're right, Cédric. I know my master will keep me safe…even if something _does_ go wrong…"  
  
A minute or so of silence passed between the two.  
  
"But…" Cédric finally spoke up, "You still worry?"  
  
Roxy sighed and stared down at the couch cushion. "Of course I'm still worried. I can't just stop. It's…It's _scary_ , Cédric!"  
  
"I know, _mon amie_ …I know."  
  
"Once I go inside of that thing…who knows what can happen? _Anything_ can happen…" A whine escaped her lips and she laid down on her stomach, reaching up with her paws to pull her ears down over her face. "Anything…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy held her tail in her paws, a frown on her face. She was _very_ nervous.  
  
The busy airport bustled around her. It was a never-ending cacophony of noise and sound. Tons and tons of humans moved about, going in every direction and generally creating a huge, mixed-up crowd. Few Pokémon could be seen.  
  
The roof was high above her, and the room itself was massive. There were signs all over the walls in a variety of different languages, signs and markers to help direct the flow of foot traffic, kiosks with humans in professional-looking attire, and a _lot_ of high-tech computers and visual devices.  
  
Roxy gulped, glancing around. From where she stood, she could mostly see only the feet and legs of other humans. She, her master and Desmond were in the baggage check line, ready to board their flight. Up ahead were a series of uniformed humans that marked the final checkpoint. This would be the last time she could be out of her Poké Ball before they arrived in Kalos.  
  
She felt out of place. Most of the other humans had already recalled their Pokémon to their Poké Balls and were just standing in line on their own. Roxy didn't want to go into her Ball until the last possible minute, and she was grateful that her master was understanding of this. Still, it didn't stop that sharp jolt of fear she felt every time the line moved forward.  
  
"Roxy, honey…" her master said as she reached down and picked the Pikachu up, "Don't be scared. I know you don't like your Poké Ball, but think of how much fun we're going to have once we're there!"  
  
"Pikaaa…"  
  
Roxy was trying to keep herself from worrying, but she wasn't having much luck. She felt like a huge element of control was being taken away from her, and it left her feeling very vulnerable. She wished that she could ride on the plane with her master. Some Pokémon got to do it because they helped blind people see. Roxy was not one such Pokémon, however, and the rules were quite strict.  
  
She continued to hug her tail as if it were a stuffed animal. It was something rather childish that she did when she was nervous and tried not to do it because it embarrassed her. Now, however, she couldn't help herself. At this point, she was seriously considering asking her master to leave her at home with a Pokémon-sitter.  
  
"Hello. _Bonjour_."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up, realizing that there were only two more people ahead of them in line. Her time was running out. Roxy shook her head and tried to clear away the negative thoughts, but they clung to her like glue. She instead turned herself around in her master's grasp and buried her muzzle into the crook of her arm.  
  
"Roxy…" her master cooed, gently stroking her back.   
  
"Pika Pi Pika…" she moaned.  
  
"I know, sweetie. I'm sorry. I wish you could sit with us too."  
  
Fright gnawed at her mind. This was getting to be too much. The flight to Kalos would be the longest airplane flight she had ever taken. That was so much time she would spend in stasis mode, and so much time for something to go horribly wrong. Roxy loved her master, but she was seriously beginning to doubt that she could do this. They had shown up for their flight early, so she wouldn't be making them late if she protested. Roxy was sure her master would understand, and someone could come and pick her up-  
  
"Hello. _Bonjour_."  
  
A quick, icy chill ran up her spine. She anxiously poked her head up, seeing that the employee was indeed talking to Desmond.  
  
"How many bags are you traveling with?"  
  
"Four," Desmond replied, "Two each."  
  
"Please place them on the conveyor belt here, and empty your pockets into this container. How many Pokémon will you be bringing aboard the aircraft today?"  
  
"Just one," her master replied, giving Roxy a gentle squeeze. Roxy remained completely still, only her eyes moving from person to person as they spoke.  
  
The employee, a woman with an outrageous hairstyle, gave Roxy a scrutinizing look. "Is it a service Pokémon?" she asked, giving a glance to Desmond and then back to Roxy.  
  
"No, we have her Poké Ball right here," Desmond replied, fishing into his pocket and pulling out the little red and white ball with the star sticker attached to it. With the press of a button, it tripled in size.  
  
The employee gave them all a flat look. "Well could you hurry it up, _sir_? People are waiting in line."  
  
Desmond looked offended for a moment, but then shrugged it off and handed his daughter the Poké Ball. While he started loading their luggage onto the conveyor belt, her master squatted down low to the ground and placed Roxy on the floor.  
  
"Okay, Roxy. It's time, sweetie," she said, holding the Poké Ball in the palm of her hand.  
  
"Pikaaa…" Roxy whined, still clutching her tail. She was nervous and anxious, but also worried about upsetting her master. She wanted to go home, but she didn't want to leave her master's side for this vacation either. All in all, she was not a happy Pikachu and it showed in her expression as she looked up to her master with worried eyes.  
  
The smile her master gave her, however, had an instant calming effect. "Roxy, I know you're scared," she spoke in a soft, relaxing tone, "I know you don't like it. But, it's not going to hurt you. There's no safer place for you to be than in this Ball, okay?" She giggled. "I wish I could stay in the ball with you. To tell you the truth, I don't really like flying."  
  
Roxy stood there wordlessly, her eyes moving between her master's smiling face and the Poké Ball.  
  
"Before you know it, we'll be in Kalos and we'll have so much fun! We'll remember it forever! This isn't just a vacation for me, it's a vacation for all of us. I'm bringing you along because I love you and I want to share this experience with you." She then moved her arm, bringing the Poké Ball a little closer to Roxy. "I just need you to do one thing for me, though. Can you do that, Roxy? Please?"  
  
Her master's words filled her mind. The gentle tone of her master's voice had always managed to calm her down and bring a smile to her face. This time was no exception. Despite how scared she was, there was a little smile gracing her lips. Roxy couldn't change the fact that she was anxious about the whole ordeal, but she reminded herself of what she knew in her heart. Her master was looking out for her and making sure that she was safe.   
  
"Pika…Pika Pi, Pikachu~" she said, taking a step forward. The two of them had been together for Roxy's entire life. She had always put her trust in her master, and now was no different. She knew that even if something _did_ happen, her master would be there to rescue her.  
  
"There you go. Good girl! It won't be long, okay? I'll see you in a little bit, sweetie. I promise."  
  
Another jolt of fear ran up Roxy's spine, but she took a breath and calmed herself down. She could do this. She would do it for her master. "Pika!" she said, before reaching her paw forward and tapping the button on the Poké Ball. In a matter of seconds, her vision faded to red and the sensation of the outer world disappeared.  
  
Roxy soon found herself seeing the field that she knew wasn't really there. According to her Pokémon friends, the field was always the same in every Poké Ball. Roxy didn't much care for it. Her master wasn't in the field.  
  
This was something she could tolerate, though, at least to a degree. Roxy could feel her heart pumping in her chest as she waited for what would come next. A couple of anxious minutes passed, and then the Poké Ball's stasis mode was activated. Roxy's entire sense of reality faded to black.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The field didn't reappear.  
  
Usually stasis mode was shut off by her master, bringing the field back into view, and then she would be released. That didn't happen. It was the first sign that something had gone wrong.  
  
Roxy had expected to re-enter the outside world in any of a number of places. She could have appeared in the baggage claim or the lobby of the Kalos airport. She could have appeared in the car or the hotel if for some reason her master didn't release her right away. She could have even appeared in the internal areas of the airport, released by an employee by accident or because of some extraneous circumstance.  
  
Where she found herself was not even close to any of those places.  
  
Upon being released from her Poké Ball, there was usually an accompanying sound. This time, however, the sound seemed different. It sounded distorted in a way. Roxy felt her feet hit the ground and the sensations of the outside world return to her. She shook her head, trying to clear away the dizziness of being in stasis mode.  
  
Before she opened her eyes, she could already tell that something was _really_ wrong. It was too quiet. She was standing on dirt. She could hear running water for some reason. Plus, it was very humid. It felt neither like Kalos _nor_ her home.  
  
Anxiously, Roxy opened her eyes and beheld the world around her. She nearly stumbled and lost her balance at what she saw. Eyes wide and pupils the size of dots, she stared at the world around her. She wasn't in an airport. She wasn't inside of any building. In fact, she wasn't even in any _city_!  
  
Roxy was in the middle of the wilderness.  
  
It looked sort of like a jungle, but not quite. There were thick trees surrounding her. Was it a wild forest? A rainforest maybe? Trembling, Roxy glanced to her left, where she saw the raging waters of a fast-moving river. Though her legs had turned to jelly, she forced herself to move them and turned herself around in a complete circle. Trees stretched as far as she could see in all directions. There wasn't a single sign of civilization.  
  
Roxy's ears fell flat against her head, a look of pure shock and horror on her face. Her heart was thumping dangerously fast in her chest, and it felt like her stomach had jumped right up her throat. She shivered like a leaf, staring wide-eyed and slack jawed at where she was. A thousand questions ran through her mind too fast for her to even focus on them.  
  
She couldn't move. She could hardly breathe. Roxy was so scared, she felt like she was going to pass out.  
  
"M…Master…?" she squeaked, barely loud enough to hear.  
  
Only the sound of the rushing river answered her.  
  
"M-master??" she shouted, a little louder this time. Still there was no answer. She was alone, not a single friendly soul anywhere in sight. A terrified whine escaped her lips.  
  
Her worst fears had come true.


	2. Life and Death

Roxy's little mind ran a million miles a minute. The terrified Pikachu held her head in her paws, staring wide-eyed at the strange world around her and nearly hyperventilating with how quickly she was breathing. She couldn't quite process what she was seeing. It felt like she was having a nightmare, and she even spent a few moments trying to wake herself up.  
  
This was no dream, however. It was real. Roxy could feel the humidity in the air and hear the rushing sound of the river. Admittedly she couldn't see very far because of the trees, but it felt to her like she was _miles_ away from civilization. She was in the middle of a forest in the wilderness, and her master was nowhere in sight.  
  
What happened? _What happened?!_ Her frightened mind demanded an answer, but she had none. Something had happened after her master had recalled her to her Poké Ball in the airport's baggage check, but what? What could _possibly_ have led her to where she presently found herself??  
  
She heard a noise in the distance, causing her to whip her head around. She immediately felt very unsafe. The most Roxy had ventured into the wilderness was perhaps a gentle trail through a national park. She knew right off the bat that she was somewhere dangerous. This was out in the wild.   
  
This was where _wild Pokémon_ lived…  
  
"Master…?" she whispered in futility. A thousand emotions flooded through the poor Pikachu. She was utterly terrified, frozen on the spot and sensing danger all around her, but she was also very confused. She felt terribly alone without her master. Roxy's life hadn't been perfect and she'd faced a few bumps along the road, but her master had always been there to help her get through them.  
  
Roxy yelped in surprise, whirling around as she thought she heard another noise. Her eyes scanned the trees, looking for movement, but she could find none. She could feel her skin crawling. It felt like a hundred eyes were staring right at her, sizing her up and seeing her as a delicious meal.   
  
  
Trembling and whimpering, Roxy slowly rotated on the spot and looked for any signs of danger. She didn't find any, but something else caught her eye. It was enough to make her gasp and allow her feet to move once again. Quickly, she dashed over to the bank of the river.  
  
There was her Poké Ball, lying in the grass just next to the river. Even from a distance, Roxy could see that it was soaking wet.   
  
She leaned her body down to examine it. There had been a small glimmer of hope in the back of her mind, believing that she could just hide in the Poké Ball until someone rescued her, but that was immediately quashed once she saw what had happened to her ball.  
  
It was lying opened on the ground, like a walnut cracked in half. Poké Balls weren't supposed to stay open like that, but Roxy could see why. She carefully extended her front paws and picked up the Poké Ball, wincing as a few pieces of the damaged device fell to the ground. The high-tech sphere was scratched, dented and beat up. It looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to it. The hinge was busted and the latch was cracked in two, which explained why she had been released from inside. None of the lights on the inside were illuminated. The Poké Ball was completely destroyed.  
  
Roxy's paws shook as she held the damaged remnants of the device, looking down at it with wide, fearful eyes. She had always hated this thing, but now seeing it destroyed sent waves of fear down her spine. Not only was her one desperate chance of safety now gone, but it only raised more questions in her mind.   
  
What had _happened_ to her Poké Ball?   
  
Considering that they were utilized to transport living creatures, Poké Balls of all kinds were made of some of the strongest material in existence. To see what had happened to hers, Roxy realized that it must have gone through something _awful_.  
  
She trembled like a leaf. She had been _inside_ of that thing while whatever awful thing was happening, and she'd had no idea. It was precisely the reason why she hated Poké Balls. It looked as if her ball had been run over by a huge truck, trampled by a rock slide and then smashed with a hammer. Meanwhile she had been inside, unaware of the world around her.  
  
Roxy clenched her eyes shut and shivered, promising herself to _never_ go inside of a Poké Ball ever again. Her master would just have to come to understand what it was like for her. Roxy's paws quivered as she tried to block out the terrifying ideas of what had happened to her while she had been inside.  
  
There was a sound behind her. Roxy nearly jumped three feet into the air as a shiver ran up her spine. She chirped in surprise and dropped the broken Poké Ball from her paws. It fell into the river before her.  
  
Roxy reached her paw out and almost took a step forward, but then stopped herself. Within seconds, the mighty river had taken the broken thing away from her, never to be seen again. It had seemed almost instinctual for her to leap right in after it to try and save it. She asked herself why.  
  
The answer was simple. While she absolutely detested the thing, it represented the connection with her master. It was a symbol of the two belonging together. Her master wasn't here for her in this dangerous place, and now it felt like another small part of her master had just been taken away.  
  
She stood there for a moment, staring down the river and reflecting on the loss of the Poké Ball. Her paws unconsciously moved up to her neck where she grasped the collar that was still around her neck. She also knew that her master's flower was behind her ear. Not _everything_ was gone.  
  
There was another sound from somewhere behind her, and Roxy suddenly remembered where she was. She whimpered in fear and whirled around so that her back was to the river. She stood there, frozen with fear, clutching her paws together as she eyed the forest. Still, she couldn't see any movement. Whatever was making sounds, she couldn't see it.  
  
Roxy tried to imagine what _may_ have been out there, but the list was endless. There were more than 700 known species of Pokémon, and many of them could live out there. It could just be a little Pachirisu climbing in the trees and making a branch fall to the ground.   
  
Or, it could be a huge Tyranitar ready to swallow her whole.  
  
Roxy clutched her tail to her chest, almost violently shaking from fear at this point. Tears streamed from her eyes as she struggled to keep herself relatively calm. She was breathing so heavily that she was afraid she would pass out. Her eyes continued their nonstop scan for danger.  
  
 _Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?_ Her mind repeatedly screamed the question at her. _How did I get here?! Where's master? What's out there? Is it safe to move? What do I do? What do I_ do _?!_  
  
Roxy started sobbing, completely overcome with fear. She honestly couldn't handle this much at once. A typical day for the Pikachu involved leisurely strolling through the gardens and cuddling with her master. This wasn't just outside of her comfort zone, it was about three postal codes away!   
  
She fell back on her rump as she broke down in tears, hugging her own tail like a stuffed animal. There was nothing around her in all directions but untouched nature. The only familiar thing, her Poké Ball, was gone now. It was just her, and she was completely alone. At this point she started seeing things that weren't there. It seemed every time she looked behind a tree, there was a phantom or shadow waiting there, making her believe that some predator had found her and was about to devour her.  
  
"M-m-master…" she whimpered quietly, "Wh-where are y-you…?"  
  
Roxy was getting overwhelmed. There was a crippling sense of fear coursing through her body, rooting her to the spot. She could feel a tightness in her chest and a pain in her stomach. This was right up there as one of the most terrifying things she could have imagined happening to her.   
  
"What do I do…?" she whispered to herself, her eyes still darting around wildly, "Do I go? Do I stay? Where would I go? M-maybe I should try to find my way out of the forest…?" She whined. "It's dangerous out there…" Then, she gulped. "But…then again, I'm a sitting Psyduck right now anyway…"  
  
Nervously, she glanced up at the partly cloudy sky visible above the trees. "But what if master is looking for me…? If I go, then maybe…maybe she won't be able to find me…"  
  
Roxy just wished that she had a better idea of where she was. The only thing she could guess, and this wasn't even something she knew for sure, was that her Poké Ball had floated down the river. Anything further back from that was completely unknown. She realized that it might be helpful to climb a tree and look from the top.  
  
Fear, however, kept her chained to the spot.  
  
Roxy wasn't sure how long she had sat there, quivering in a cesspool of her own terror. A horrible sensation of indecision clouded her mind. At this point she was truly panicking. No single option seemed safe to her.   
  
In her mind, she was fighting against the notion of giving up. Things already seemed completely hopeless to her. If there _were_ wild Pokémon out there, which she was certain there were, how would she ever get past them safely? Pikachu were not predators; they were prey. Most wild Pikachu had to fight for their survival. Roxy knew she had no hope of doing that. She knew a barely-useful Thunder Jolt and Grass Knot, a move that was not only extremely hard and taxing to pull off, but she had only ever used it before to just show off.  
  
Furthermore, if she was super-deep in the wilderness, then what? If she stayed, she would have to figure out how to survive and live with the fact that she would never see her home again. If she left, then she would have to travel through harsh terrain filled with dangerous creatures on a journey in which she had no idea which direction to go.  
  
Truthfully, she felt like she was doomed.  
  
Roxy's ear twitched and her body froze up as she heard a sound from behind her. She had been hearing phantom sounds the whole time she had been there, but this one was loud enough to be distinct. It was the sound of something rustling about in a bush, and it was coming from right behind her. Right across the river.   
  
Quivering like a leaf and trying to keep herself from completely freaking out, Roxy slowly turned and glanced over her shoulder. When she turned back far enough to see across to the other side of the river, her blood immediately ran cold. There were predators out here, all right. She was looking right at one.  
  
It was a huge Aggron. The din of the rushing river had drowned out its footsteps, but Roxy had heard it once it started feeding off of the berry bush.  
  
Roxy felt her heart jump right into her throat. Right across the river, only ten or so metres away, was a creature nearly seven times her size. There was no trainer nearby, but Roxy didn't need the absence of one to see that this Pokémon was wild. She could see it in its eyes and the way it acted. This was a creature that, by nature's design, could and _would_ devour her.  
  
And all it would take was a turn of its head for it to see her.  
  
A moment later, that is exactly what happened. A painful chill ran through Roxy's tiny body as the Aggron turned its head just slightly and regarded her with one menacing eye. It stared at her for a moment as she remained frozen on the spot, unmoving except for the heaving of her chest. There was an air of chilly superiority in the Aggron's gaze. It wore a small frown and looked at her almost as if it were disinterested. It, however, was still scowling at her.  
  
Roxy couldn't breathe. Aggron may be large, but they were quite speedy. She had no doubt that it could turn on the spot, deftly leap over the river, and catch hold of her before her frightened little paws could take her anywhere. Either this thing, this _predator_ , would leave her alone, or she would be killed in the next couple of seconds.   
  
Time stood still for a moment as the two stared at one another. Roxy's blood felt like ice in her veins.   
  
The Aggron turned its body and took one hulking step towards her, and the next thing Roxy knew she was running through the forest as fast as she could. From the very moment the large creature had given a sign of movement, it was like a spring had been released underneath her. She had gone from zero to top speed in the blink of an eye, dashing blindly into the forest to escape the danger.  
  
Now she was running on pure adrenaline, keeping her eyes focused only on the maze of trees she was running through in order to avoid them. She thanked the stars for her natural Pikachu nimbleness and was able to deftly zip through the forest without crashing into anything.  
  
All of her other senses were dulled. She was barely aware of where she was running. All she could sense were the alarm bells ringing in her head, warning her of the bloodthirsty Aggron that was probably just a few steps behind her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she subconsciously pushed her body to go even faster. The words ' _I don't wanna die!!_ ' repeated endlessly in her head.  
  
Roxy had no idea how long she had run for. She had simply been running for her life with no concept of time or distance.  
  
She only came to a stop once her heart started crying out in pain from the exertion, after which her legs started to give up on her. She slowed down and came to a stop, collapsing onto her forepaws and sucking down deep breaths of air. Her limbs felt like they were on fire, and every breath was like thorns down her trachea. Roxy had never run so far and so fast in her whole life, and the resulting consequences _hurt_.  
  
Unable to hold herself up, she collapsed onto her side and continued to take deep breaths. For a few minutes, her whole body was on fire. It seemed like she was never going to catch her breath. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Roxy felt her heartrate slow and her breathing return to normal. The air grew quiet around her as she lay on the ground, totally exhausted.  
  
It took a moment, but she realized that she was still in one piece after lying on the ground for so long. She must have outrun the Aggron.   
  
She let out a relieved sigh, shivering as she felt the fear leave her body. "Oh goodness…" she murmured, "I'm alive…I'm alive…!"  
  
Roxy lay there for a while, letting the relief wash over her body. She had gotten away from the wild, carnivorous Aggron, though she didn't know how long it had been chasing her. She had just about given up and resigned her fate to being an after-dinner snack, but in the end she had triumphed. Roxy had escaped the danger. There was no pride to be felt, only relief and gratefulness to still be breathing.  
  
She wanted to laugh. Roxy wanted to laugh and shout with joy. Instead, though, she only found herself crying some more. She huddled herself up into a pathetic little ball on the ground and wept. Her body and mind were completely overwhelmed. She had only been in this forest for less than half an hour, and look what had happened already.  
  
She shivered, cried and moaned as the emotional turmoil tore through her body. In a single moment, her entire life had been flipped upside down. If she had refused her master's offer to go to Kalos, she would be sitting back in the comfort of her home under the care of a Pokésitter. Instead, she was lost Arceus knew where in the middle of a forest with dangerous, wild Pokémon.   
  
Roxy just wanted the nightmare to end. She wanted to wake up in the warmness of her master's embrace. She wanted to smile and sit down to read a book with her master. At the very least, she did not want to be _here_.  
  
The frightened young Pikachu sniffled and sat up, feeling her tears start to die down. She nervously glanced all around her, realizing that her crying could have easily attracted another predator. "Stop it…" she whispered to herself, "Stop crying…Y-you have to…figure something out…"  
  
Roxy glanced to the left, and her eyes wandered upwards along the trunk of a tree. "Climb the tree," she said decidedly, and got to her paws. After taking one more glance around to see if there were any danger nearby, she started moving amongst the trees.  
  
She stood at the base of each and glanced up, until she quickly found one that was much taller than the rest. She studied it for a moment, not seeing any Pokémon residing up in the branches, and then began to ascend it. Her little paws gripped the bark and the branches masterfully as she quickly scaled higher and higher. This was definitely not the first tree she had ever climbed. Tree climbing was something that came naturally to her.  
  
A few moments later, she reached the slightly precarious top branches of the tree, which poked just high enough above the canopy to allow her to see over the tops of the trees. She settled into a safe, comfortable spot and then took a look at the land that surrounded her.  
  
Roxy's heart fell and her eyes widened at what she saw. Far as she could see, all the way to the horizon, was nothing but trees and nature. There were mountains in the distance, forming a very large valley in the middle. In every direction that she was able to look, Roxy couldn't spy a single man-made structure. The truth hit her hard that she truly was in the middle of nowhere.  
  
A whimper escaped her lips. She stared, as if in a trance, at the hell that surrounded her. Truthfully, the hills and the tree cover meant that she couldn't see as far as she might have hoped from such a vantage point, but it was still a very bad sign. At the very least if she had seen _something_ made by humans, such as a cabin in the woods or a weather tower, then she would have at least had a goal. Instead, she had nothing. Humans and her home were out there somewhere, but Roxy had no idea where.  
  
Roxy sat there at the top of the tree for a few minutes, and then carefully made her way back down to the forest floor. The last thing she needed was a broken neck from falling out of the tree. When her paws hit the soil, she hugged herself with her front paws and sat down at the base of the tree. She let out a heavy sigh.  
  
"What do I do…?" she asked herself for the umpteenth time. She tried to run through all of the options in her head, but this only made her feel anxious and sick to her stomach. "Master…" she said wistfully, "Master, I'm lost…I'm in trouble…I-I need you…" Roxy moaned and wiped the tears from her eyes.  
  
She knew that, at the simplest level, she had two options. If she decided to try to find her way back home, then she would just have to pick a direction at random which could end up leading her even deeper into the wilderness, not to mention into the jaws of numerous predators. If she decided to stay put on the other hand, a thought that felt like a stab through the heart because it would mean leaving her whole world behind, then she would have to find shelter and food somewhere. Both options seemed equally dismal and hopeless. Roxy doubted she would have the strength to travel on foot so far in the uncertain hope that she would find humans, but she also had absolutely no experience in foraging or keeping herself safe from danger. Roxy had never even been camping before. Not even in the back yard!  
  
"I'm dead…" she whispered pessimistically, "If not now then eventually…I'm dead."  
  
Roxy sat there for an indeterminate amount of time. All she did was hug herself, shiver, and let her eyes dart left and right frantically. She was seeing danger everywhere. To her, every tree was hiding another Aggron, or even something worse.  
  
She spent some time thinking about her situation, though most of her thoughts were negative. She tried to cheer herself up by remembering the happier times in her life back home, but this ended up having the opposite effect. She also tried to pretend that she was brave and asked herself what plan of action she would take if she were the bravest Pikachu in the land.  
  
Occasionally, she would hear the crow of a bird Pokémon or the rustling of leaves, but for all the time she sat there Roxy didn't see another living soul. It would appear to the naked eye that the forest was uninhabited, but Roxy knew this was _far_ from the truth.  
  
Finally, after the air started getting just a little chillier, she stood up. She gulped and steeled herself against her own fears, telling herself that she wasn't going to get anything done by just sitting there. She realized that staying in one place was certain death, but going somewhere else at least gave her a small chance.  
  
"Eenie, meenie, miny, moe…" she murmured, recalling something her master used to do to make a decision. She picked a direction at random, and started walking. Roxy walked along on her hind legs, keeping her front paws clasped in front of her as she nervously looked around. She went at a slow pace, taking care to keep her eyes and ears open for danger.  
  
The forest truly didn't offer much in the form of landmarks. Even after walking for quite a while, all she had seen were the same trees and bushes. A pang of worry struck her heart when she wondered if she was walking in circles.   
  
At one point she stopped suddenly, quickly whipping her head around to look behind her. She could have _sworn_ she had heard something in the bushes. Roxy remained there for a couple of minutes and stared, but saw nothing. Suppressing another bout of shivering, she turned forward once more and continued.  
  
A silver lining was found when she realized that she was not, in fact, going in circles. Roxy discovered this when she came upon a small, babbling brook which she had never seen before. It cut its way through the forest, running perpendicular to the direction she had been traveling in. In contrast to the river where she had emerged from her Poké Ball, this creek's waters were slow and calm.  
  
Roxy smiled for the first time in a long while, albeit a small smile, as she walked over to the bank of the creek. The serene sound of the running water was quite soothing, and she took a moment to let it wash away some of her nerves. Then, Roxy got down on all fours and leaned forward to take a drink. She hadn't realized how thirsty running for her life had made her until she had started walking. The clear water of the creek was a welcome treat.  
  
"Okay…" she murmured to herself, "I should…try to remember where this is." A brief shiver ran up her spine before she continued. "This…might have to be where I get my water from now on…"  
  
With this somber thought in mind, she made her way to a narrow, shallow part of the creek and swiftly leapt across. She landed on the other side without getting a single paw wet. Her spirits felt lifted a little bit, a tiny smile still out on display, as she padded through the grass and further into the woods.  
  
 _Splish._  
  
Roxy froze, one paw left hanging in the air. Her ears perked up and her eyes opened wide. A splash. A splash in the water is what she had heard. Not the natural sound of the running water, but an actual deliberate splash. As if someone had stepped in the creek.  
  
She quickly turned around and looked back at the creek. Her blood ran cold at what she saw. Standing only a few metres behind her, with one hind paw in the creek and one _very_ sharp claw in the air, was a Zangoose. A _big_ Zangoose. It was looking right at her, its body hunched down as if it were a stalking Skitty. Its expression seemed surprised for a brief moment, but then quickly morphed into a haughty smirk.  
  
"Well, well, well…" it spoke in a distinctly male voice, "What have we here?"  
  
Roxy stood completely still. She dared not even breathe. Her eyes quickly took in every feature of her guest, but mostly they were focused on the pair of front paws with the _long, sharp claws_.  
  
The Zangoose chuckled. "You caught me. I slipped while crossing the creek," he said, tilting his head towards the hind paw that was in the water. "Good job, young one. Even those with long ears scarcely hear my kind approaching."  
  
Still, Roxy remained as still as a statue. Her heart was pumping so hard that she was afraid it would burst right through her chest. She was experiencing all of the emotions and fear she had felt upon seeing the Aggron, only ten times worse. This time there wasn't a difficult-to-cross river between her and the predator.  
  
The Zangoose took a slow, deliberate step forward, just enough to bring his hind paw out of the water. Roxy tensed up, but still did not move. "You seem lost…" he commented, "Are you lost, little Pikachu?"  
  
Roxy blinked. Some illogical part of her mind figured that she was lost and she did need help, but a _predator_ was not the kind of help she wanted. Still, for some reason, it gave her the small amount of courage needed to speak. "Um…y-yes?" she squeaked.  
  
"Awww…" the Zangoose purred, "This is a dangerous place to get lost. There are creatures out here, little Pikachu. Bad creatures. _Hungry_ creatures…"  
  
"Y-yes…I'm…trying to g-get out…" Roxy said. She gulped, shivering from head to tail as she stared in fear at this large creature. She remembered the 'Zangoose' entry in the encyclopedia. This guy was a fair bit larger than what was listed under 'average height'.  
  
It was then she realized that the Zangoose had been slowly approaching her. She jumped slightly in fear and took a few hasty steps backwards.  
  
The Zangoose stopped. "Now, now…What is wrong? Do you not trust me?" He followed this up by leaning down a little more, looking like he was getting ready to pounce, and flashing her a dark, predatory grin.  
  
Roxy felt a few tears run down her cheeks. "P-please…" she whimpered, "I…I just wanna go home…" She continued to back up as the Zangoose continued to approach.  
  
"Of course, of course…" the Zangoose continued in a voice that sent shivers down her spine, "You want to get home…to see your kin…to eat your dinner. I can empathize with that."   
  
Roxy squeaked in surprise, realizing that she had just backed herself up against a tree. Her heart was pounding almost painfully now. Her mind was overwhelmed with fear. She was literally staring death right in its eyes.  
  
"After all," the Zangoose whispered, having gotten ever so slightly closer to her, "I'm about to have dinner too."  
  
A split second later, he pounced.  
  
Roxy's body reacted before her brain did. She darted to the left, feeling the air rush past her fur as the Zangoose landed and swung his claws. They left a huge, deep gash in the tree she had just been standing in front of moments ago. Roxy screamed.  
  
The Zangoose didn't slow down in the slightest. It quickly corrected its course and dove for her once more. Roxy screamed again and leapt away. She darted into the trees, sprinting as fast as she possibly could. Tears streamed from her eyes as she desperately pushed herself to escape the danger.  
  
She knew that she couldn't outrun the Zangoose. She could be nimble and evade his attacks, but the moment it turned into a chase she would lose. Branches snapped and the horrible sounds of torn tree trunks reached her ears. Roxy, instead of trying to run away, began circling and weaving around the trees. It was the only thing she could think of in her frantic state. She figured that maybe the Zangoose's large body size would make it more difficult for him to follow her.  
  
This act managed to keep her alive, for the moment at least. As she skittered around the trees, she caught many glimpses of the furious, almost feral expression on the Zangoose's face. The Zangoose was hungry for blood. _Her_ blood. Roxy was so scared that it felt like she was running on autopilot at this point.  
  
Roxy screamed as the Zangoose's razor-sharp claws carved right through a tree trunk that was a paw's length away from her. Her plan wasn't working. He was still dangerously close to hitting her, and she couldn't run around like this forever. She was still exhausted from running from the Aggron, and already she was starting to pant heavily.  
  
The terrified Pikachu made a split-second decision. Roxy didn't know if Zangoose could climb trees, but she figured she was about to find out. If so, then maybe she could leap from tree to tree. It seemed like her only hope. After circling around another tree and avoiding a claw swipe, Roxy quickly leapt up and started climbing the tree.  
  
She cried out in both surprise and pain as she felt something yank down painfully on her tail. She tried to pull herself up further with her paws, but the grip on her tail was strong. Roxy craned her neck and looked back down, horror washing over her as she saw the Zangoose was grabbing her tail with one of his claws. He was giving her a vicious smirk and trying to pull her down.  
  
Roxy wept in terror as she held onto the bark of the tree for dear life. "Please!!" she wailed, "Please let me go! I just wanna go home!" She cried out in pain as she felt his claws dig into her tail. "I- I'm so small and thin! I probably taste really horrible!" She could feel her paws slipping. The strength in her forelegs was giving out. She had to think of something and fast, or in a few seconds she would fall right into the hungry maw of the Zangoose.  
  
She was so terrified and upset. In the span of less than an hour, she had been thrust directly into a painful life and death situation. Roxy had never imagined herself being in any kind of situation that even came close to one like this. She was in pain from exhaustion, more pain from the strain in her forepaws, and _excruciating_ pain from the Zangoose's claws digging into her tail as they pulled. Terror gripped her mind so badly that it was hard to think of anything, much less a plan. She just wanted to close her eyes and wake up back at home.  
  
Roxy let out a blood-curdling scream and used her hind paws to push herself off of the tree. She arced backwards through the air, hoping desperately that this crazy plan would work, and fell down towards the Zangoose below.  
  
Fortune smiled upon her, as her hind paws landed square on the top of the Zangoose's head. This gave her enough of a platform to leap away from the predator, simultaneously inflicting pain that caused him to release his grip on her tail. She landed on the ground a few paces behind him, and wasted no time in quickly dashing away.  
  
She heard him grumble in pain for a brief moment before the sounds of him giving chase once more reached her ears. The chase was on once again. Roxy did her best to weave through the trees and keep the predator at bay, but her fatigue was catching up with her. Her breath came in painful heaves as she pushed herself to keep going.  
  
She moved a little deeper into the forest, away from the creek, and found a small but open clearing in the trees. She didn't pay it much mind and headed right through it. Right before she delved back into the trees, however, was when her hind leg suddenly gave out. She yelped in pain and unceremoniously tumbled to the ground. The Pikachu rolled along the grass a few times before she felt her back slam into the trunk of a tree.  
  
Disoriented, she quickly struggled to right herself. She got herself up to a sitting position, with her back to the tree, but that's as far as she got before her whole body was paralyzed with fear. In front of her, she beheld the sight of the Zangoose suddenly landing on the ground, his stance spread to cut off her escape. Time seemed to slow down as he grinned victoriously and reared back with his claw outstretched, ready to strike.  
  
Roxy couldn't get away in time. She knew it was true. A bolt of panic unlike any she had ever felt before shook her to the very core. It was so strong that it felt like a physical pain. Roxy was about to die and there was no escape. She grit her teeth and did the only thing she could think of.  
  
"Nggggh…!" she grunted before the electricity danced from her cheeks and arced through the air towards her attacker. The Zangoose stopped and then closed his eyes and grimaced as the electricity struck his body. Sparkling yellow bolts danced around his entire form for a brief moment before disappearing.  
  
The Zangoose blinked a few times and then shook his head. He gave Roxy a look and then started laughing. "Is that the best you can do?!" he asked incredulously, "Utterly pathetic."  
  
Roxy's ears fell as a look of despair washed over her. Just great. Her Thunder Jolt hadn't done anything more than perhaps tickle her foe.  
  
"Just stay still," the Zangoose spoke, bringing his claw up once again, "I'll make it quick."  
  
Now, Roxy was _completely_ out of options. The Zangoose was close enough that he would catch her if she tried to dart away. Besides, her body had decided that it couldn't run anymore. She ached from head to tail and felt like she couldn't move. With the closest thing she had to an attack doing nothing, there wasn't anything left to try.  
  
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Roxy wanted to close her eyes but she found herself unable to tear them away from her oncoming doom. Still, she braced herself for the worst and waited for the inevitable end to come.  
  
"Gah!" the Zangoose exclaimed as he was knocked to the ground.  
  
Roxy blinked. What she had seen was so incredulous that her brain wasn't processing it properly. The Zangoose had just been hit squarely in the side of the head by…a flying wooden thing?  
  
When she realized that she wasn't dead and also wasn't in danger anymore, her mind quickly became clear. She scrambled to her feet and turned to look at the Zangoose. He was lying on the ground nearby, still far too close for comfort, and already getting back onto his paws. He was growling and looked furious.  
  
However, he wasn't focused on her.  
  
Roxy watched in shock as something else came flying at the Zangoose from the direction he was looking. It moved almost too fast to see, and clocked the Zangoose in the forehead faster than he could react. This knocked him back onto his rump and left him holding his claws to the tender spots on his head.  
  
" _Stand down, Kazaka._ "  
  
Roxy's ears perked up, and so did the Zangoose's. She turned her head towards the source of the commanding voice. She searched unsuccessfully for a moment, but then her eyes fell upon them. Her jaw fell and she gasped in astonishment.  
  
Standing on an outstretched branch on a tree at the edge of the small clearing were two male Pikachu. They were both of average size, meaning they were bigger than she was, but they were unlike any Pikachu she had ever seen in her life. Their bodies were covered with green markings, mostly consisting of sharp lines and clusters of dots. One of them had two green lines under each of his cheek pouches, resembling equals signs, and the other had markings surrounding his eyes. More markings covered their arms, legs, torsos and even their tails, and while plentiful they did not cover up too much of the original yellow fur.  
  
The one on the left was an inch taller than his companion. He carried over his shoulder a sling that looked to be constructed out of vines. It looked like a shoulder-strap backpack, only without the backpack. There was a feather attached behind one of his ears, coloured brown and white. Most striking to Roxy, however, was the fact that he was holding a weapon. Held in one of his paws at his side was a long, wooden spear with a sharpened rock at the tip. He was staring down at the Zangoose with a look of even contempt.  
  
The one on the right, though, was utterly _glaring_ at the Zangoose. He was bent down in a fighting stance, one paw holding onto the branch below him with the fur on his back and his tail standing straight up. He was the one with the 'equals' under his eyes, but he wore no garments. Roxy noticed that both of his ears were damaged, looking as if the top of each of them had been ripped off some time in the past.  
  
"Grrr! Do you have a death wish, Taka?!" the Zangoose shouted, no longer paying attention to Roxy, "Do not interrupt me while I am feeding!"  
  
"I said…" the one without the spear spoke in a low tone, " _…stand down._ "  
  
Roxy's eyes danced back and forth between the two parties. She was still terrified of the Zangoose, of course, but these new arrivals were beyond belief. Were they wild? Roxy had never encountered nor researched wild Pikachu. Even so, however, they had weapons and garments. Could they really be wild?  
  
What's more, her mind realized, were they just as much of a danger to her as the Aggron and Zangoose?  
  
"You are trespassing on our clan's territory, Kazaka" the one with the spear spoke in a louder, more authoritative voice, "Leave, and we will not harm you."  
  
The Zangoose, apparently named 'Kazaka', fumed. "I do not take orders from weak, fuzzy herbivores! I was moments away from my dinner. I caught it myself!" He thrust out a claw and pointed it threateningly at the two Pikachu. " _Perhaps you should crawl back home!_ "  
  
The Pikachu without the spear quickly pulled back his arm and then threw something. As it sailed through the air, Roxy recognized it as the thing that had hit Kazaka in the head twice before. It swung down towards the ground, curving through the air towards Kazaka's pointing claw. The Zangoose yelped and pulled his arm back before it could get hit. Roxy then watched in astonishment as the wooden thing continued spinning and sailing through the air, reversing direction and ascending back up to the treetops. Her eyes followed it until the Pikachu caught it cleanly in his paw.  
  
Now that it had stopped moving, Roxy could observe it more closely. A slim, bent piece of wood roughly in the shape of an 'L'. A…boomerang?  
  
The two Pikachu then leapt out of the tree and landed effortlessly on the ground below. "Leave," the one with the boomerang said simply.  
  
"I will not hesitate to fight you, Taka," Kazaka replied.  
  
"You are trespassing on our territory. Our clans are at peace. Do you risk sullying this relationship?"  
  
"She was on _our_ territory when I found her!"  
  
"You know as well as we both do," the one with the spear retorted, "That means nothing."  
  
Roxy's heart was thumping in her chest, leaving her with a breathless feeling. What little stamina she had in her body had long since run out. She was completely exhausted, but the situation had not gotten any less critical. The Zangoose was still close enough that it could turn on her and kill her in moments. Opposite him, those two Pikachu and their dangerous weapons were standing close by. Roxy didn't know a thing about them. Nothing they had said or done had positively indicated that they meant her no harm, after all.  
  
A moment of very tense silence passed between the three parties. Kazaka glared at Taka and his companion, who both glared right back. Taka was gripping his boomerang tightly, while the other held his spear up aggressively. Roxy gasped as she watched Kazaka's eyes glance over at her a few times. It looked as if the Zangoose were silently deciding something.  
  
A moment later, Kazaka made his move. He quickly turned to his side, towards Roxy, and pounced. His sharp teeth and claws were barred, all pointed directly at her. Roxy's life briefly flashed before her eyes before she cowered and screamed in terror.  
  
A yellow blur smacked into Kazaka's side, intercepting him in midair and sending him tumbling to the ground nearby. A panicked but exhausted Roxy struggled to keep from hyperventilating while she looked over towards the predator. He and Taka were rolling around in a vicious close-quarters skirmish. They both made angry, animalistic sounds as they brawled one another.  
  
It was difficult to see what was happening with the two moving so fast, and Roxy was starting to find it hard to focus anyway, but it seemed like Taka had the advantage. He was agile on his paws, dodging blows from Kazaka and swinging his boomerang like a blunt weapon. After a few tense seconds of fighting, Taka performed a quick backflip and hit Kazaka square in the jaw with his tail. Kazaka was knocked onto his back.  
  
Taka wasted no time in leaping directly on top of Kazaka's chest. He growled, and a few sparks danced from his cheeks. Then, before Roxy's astonished eyes, a powerful, blinding explosion of electricity was released. A massive Thunderbolt, channeled directly into the Zangoose. Kazaka cried out in intense pain for a few seconds, and then the flashing lights cleared. The Zangoose's fur was left charred and smoking, while Kazaka himself appeared dazed. His limbs twitched slightly, revealing that he had been paralyzed.  
  
Roxy heard movement to her left. In a panicked moment, she quickly swung her head around to see who it was. The action left her feeling very dizzy and weak. She saw the other Pikachu, with an unreadable expression on his face, stalking towards her with spear in paw. Her eyes went directly to the extremely sharp point of the spear, and her mind quickly got to work imagining the thousands of ways it could kill her.  
  
A small whimper escaped Roxy's throat, and then her eyes closed and her head slumped forward. The world fell into darkness as she passed out.


	3. Warm Welcomes and Fiery Tempers

Everything was quiet and calm. There were sounds, but they were soft and distant. It was not too cold, and not too hot. For the first time in quite a while, Roxy felt totally relaxed.  
  
Slowly, her tired eyes fluttered open. She moaned quietly as she awoke from her sleep, squirming about slightly. Her mind was hazy. She didn't even remember having gone to sleep. Roxy yawned, stretched her forelegs out, and shook her head to clear away the drowsiness. "Mmmaster…?"  
  
When she opened her eyes wider and got a good look at her surroundings, she let out a startled gasp. Her fatigue disappeared entirely as she stared at the unfamiliar location around her. It was a structure, certainly, but it wasn't a house. It was circular and very small, only about five times her body length in diameter. The walls looked like they were made out of dried grass, and there was a form of 'drapery' covering the doorway that was made out of leaves. Her eyes glanced down, seeing the naked ground of the Earth below her. When she sat up, she realized that she had been sleeping on a somewhat comfortable bed of leaves.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat as she backed herself up against the wall, staring in fright at this unknown place. Where was she?! Fright and confusion consumed her for a moment, but then her eyes went wide as she remembered what had happened before. She remembered finding herself in the forest and running away from the predators. She remembered the two weird-looking Pikachu, and realized that she must've passed out.  
  
Feeling only slightly less panicked, Roxy continued to look at the small room she was in. It sort of looked like a hut; the kind of dwelling that some ancient humans used to live in. The roof and walls were reinforced with sticks and branches, but everything had a very sturdy look to it. It appeared primitive, but not flimsy.  
  
"Okay…" she whispered to herself, "You're in a…hut. The…the boomerang Pikachu took out the Zangoose…and then you passed out…and now you're here. That's good…right?"  
  
Roxy whimpered and grabbed her tail so that she could hug it. The good news was that she didn't seem to be lost in the forest anymore, but now she was just somewhere else that she didn't know. It didn't feel like her ordeal was any closer to being over.  
  
Something seemed off to the little Pikachu, and then it hit her while she was idly stroking her tail. She felt fine. More than that, Roxy felt perfectly well. She had exhausted herself, strained all of her muscles, and gotten her tail mauled by the Zangoose. Now she felt great and there were no injuries on her tail at all.  
  
Roxy felt her heart thumping in her chest. This was so confusing. All she wanted to do was go home. The Pikachu brought a paw up to her chest, holding it there as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself down some more.  
  
Instead, she gasped. Her paw grasped wildly at her neck, but all it found was fur. "My collar…!"  
  
Her collar was gone. Her neck was bare, which felt rather unsettling to her. She had been wearing that collar since she had evolved into a Pikachu and her old one didn't fit anymore. Being without it made her feel strange and uncomfortable. It had been around her neck for so long that it had grown to become a part of her, and now it wasn't there.   
  
However, this also made her feel upset. That collar was more than a piece of leather holding a tag with her name on it. It was something that her master had given to her. It was a symbol of who Roxy's master was, and it represented the unbreakable bond between them. Roxy felt a sadness welling within her. Now that her collar was gone, it felt like that unbreakable bond had been broken.  
  
Roxy suspected something, and reached up with her paw to confirm it. She whined as she felt the fur around her ear. The flower was gone too. Like her collar, it had been a gift from her master and something that she felt was part of her identity. What had happened to the two items, Roxy didn't know. Now she was simply naked, a Pikachu like any other.  
  
"Where am I?" she whimpered, once more feeling alone and scared, "What happened to me?"  
  
Roxy was whining like a little Pichu cub, but she didn't care. She had never been so sad before in her whole life. With all of the life-threatening trauma she had been through, she had probably only been out of her Poké Ball for less than a day at this point. No matter how hard she tried to wake up, however, the nightmare refused to end.  
  
"Masterrr…"  
  
Roxy's ears perked. Something was outside of the hut. It sounded like pawsteps. It seemed like someone was approaching. Roxy barely had time to think about who it might be before the leaf drapes parted and a head poked in.  
  
She yelped in surprise and shrunk back slightly. Leaning in through the doorway was another Pikachu. Much like the two she had seen before, he was decorated with green markings on his fur. This one also wore some sort of necklace. He simply glanced at her emotionlessly.  
  
Roxy's heart thumped in her chest. She didn't know if he was friend or foe. However, only moments after he had poked his head in, the Pikachu left. He hadn't said or done anything. He had merely looked in on her and then left.  
  
The young female shivered. She had caught a glimpse of it through the doorway. Held at the Pikachu's side was a spear, just like the one held by the Pikachu earlier. It looked just as sharp and just as dangerous. Although, even if the Pikachu hadn't been armed, she would have still feared it. It was of above average size and looked quite intimidating. Roxy could tell that he was a fighter.  
  
A few tense moments passed, with Roxy's nerves preventing her from moving, until she began to hear voices. There were Pokémon talking outside a short distance away from the hut. She strained to listen, but they were too far away.  
  
Pawsteps approached once again. Roxy tensed up.   
  
"…No. Stay here." Roxy could just barely hear a voice.  
  
"Do not take long," replied another.  
  
A few more moments passed. Roxy felt like she was about to pass out again from the tension in her body. Her panicking mind was trying to tell her that death was just outside the door, and she was futilely attempting to quash those notions.  
  
The leaves parted. Another head popped in, and Roxy shrank back in fear once more.  
  
"Hello."   
  
Roxy squeaked in fear as if she'd been struck.  
  
The other Pikachu's eyes widened slightly as he saw her state of fear. "No, no…Calm down," he said, holding up his paws palms forward, "It is okay. You have nothing to worry about."  
  
She sat there, backed up as far as she could against the wall, staring in mind-numbing fear at this new visitor. It took her a moment, but she eventually recognized him as the spear-wielding Pikachu from before.   
  
The Pikachu frowned, seeing that her condition hadn't changed. "Look," he said, stepping through the leaves and bringing his whole body through the threshold.   
  
Roxy tensed up against the wall even more.  
  
"See?" he spoke, extending his forelimbs and revealing as much of his body as he could, "I am unarmed. I have no weapons. I am not here to harm you."  
  
Roxy stared for a moment. Indeed, the Pikachu's spear was nowhere to be found. She couldn't see any other concealed weapons, like those boomerangs, and he didn't have anything on him except a small shoulder-strap carrying pouch that looked like it too was made from leaves. A part of her fear began to ebb away and she started to relax a little bit.  
  
The other Pikachu smiled. "You see? I am not your enemy, young one. I am here to help you."  
  
"Y…" Roxy murmured, "Y-you are…?"  
  
"You are safe here. You have nothing to fear, especially not from me." After a moment, the Pikachu took another step forwards. Though Roxy had her eyes on him, she didn't tense up this time or try to back away. Instead, she just watched him.  
  
"Who…are you?" she whispered.  
  
The Pikachu got about two paces away from her and then sat down upon the ground. Now the two were sitting and facing one another. This was one of those moments that really displayed to Roxy how small she was.   
  
"I am Makari," he said in a soft tone and extended one of his paws towards her.  
  
She stared at his paw, as if the paw itself would hurt her. She briefly glanced back up to his face. There, she could see a distinct gentleness in his eyes. She knew it was the same Pokémon that had fought against the Zangoose earlier, but his eyes and the way he behaved were totally different. Roxy was truthfully scared out of her life, but there was something about Makari's gaze that made her feel at ease. Her fears and anxieties didn't seem as powerful.  
  
Slowly but deliberately, she reached out one of her own paws. After a few seconds of hesitation, she placed it in Makari's upturned paw. She felt her body freeze, subconsciously expecting her entire limb to be ripped off. Instead, Makari simply held it there for a few moments, and then released it.  
  
"That is better…" he said, "Believe me, young friend, you are away from danger here. You need not fear us."  
  
Roxy gulped, but then slowly nodded. "Okay…" she mumbled quietly.  
  
"Tell me, do you feel all right? When we found you, you were exhausted. We have treated you, but please tell me if there is anything wrong. Perhaps there is something we can bring you?"  
  
"I…" Roxy was about to tell him 'no', but that was the moment her stomach decided to growl. She had been so focused on being scared that she hadn't noticed how hungry she was. She was _famished_ , and she realized that she hadn't eaten since the airport.   
  
Makari laughed. "I thought you might be hungry," he said as he reached into his pouch, "So I brought these." A moment later, he pulled out three round, blue fruits.  
  
Oran berries. Roxy knew what they were, and had enjoyed them as a tasty snack many times before. They were a staple of domesticated Pokémon food. Just seeing the berries made her mouth water and her stomach growl as if it were pleading for her to tackle Makari and take the berries. They could have been rotten and she wouldn't have cared. That's how hungry she realized she was.  
  
However, she didn't move. She remained completely still, like a Deerling caught in headlights, staring at both Makari and the berries.  
  
Makari gave her a gentle, encouraging smile. He held his paws forward, bringing the berries a little closer to her. "It is okay. They are for you. You may take as many as you want."  
  
Still, Roxy remained frozen. Anxiety was written across all of her features.  
  
Makari at first tilted his head in confusion, but then the reason for her hesitation dawned on him. "You have nothing to worry about. They are perfectly safe to eat."  
  
Roxy gulped, trying to decide if she could believe him. Unfortunately, the only word that her brain was understanding was ' _poison_ '.  
  
"Okay. Watch me, then," Makari said, and then brought one of the berries up to his mouth where he took a big bite. He chewed the juicy fruit for a moment before swallowing. "See? There is nothing wrong with them."  
  
A few of Roxy's nerves calmed down. That was definitely a sign that the berries weren't poisoned. Probably. There was still the notion in her mind that Makari had deliberately eaten the only non-poisoned berry in the bunch, but the fear was ebbing away. She realized that if she continued to act like this, she would be too scared to eat _anything_ out here, and then where would that leave her?  
  
Slowly, like a tiny, frightened Rattata, she got up on all fours and took a few trembling steps towards the other Pikachu. She kept her eyes on him the whole time, watching him for any sudden moves. Once she was close enough, she got up on her hind legs so that the two were facing each other. After one more moment's hesitation, she reached out her paws towards the other two berries. Makari happily handed them over to her.  
  
Roxy stared at the two fruits in her paws. They certainly looked okay, and Makari _had_ eaten one of them. Her fears forced her to hesitate yet again, but she swallowed them and forced herself to take a chance.   
  
One bite into the juicy, succulent Oran berry was all the persuasion she needed to chow down. Roxy immediately felt her stomach leaping for joy as it was filled with the sweet, slightly tangy treat. She had never had an Oran berry that tasted this good before, and she wondered if it was because she was so hungry or if it really was that delicious.   
  
Roxy quickly devoured the two berries she had been given, eating quickly but still adhering to the table manners she had learned back home. She may have been starving, and she may have been in some grass hut in the middle of the unknown, but that was no reason to get her fur all messy.   
  
Once she had swallowed the last bite, she let out a sigh of satisfaction. Already, she felt leagues better. She could feel her energy starting to return.  
  
"Feel better?"  
  
Roxy jumped slightly, having almost forgotten that Makari was even there. She glanced up at him, again seeing his warm and comforting smile.  
  
"Um…Y-yes…" she murmured.  
  
"I have more," he said, reaching for the pouch once again, "Would you like some?"  
  
Her watering mouth answered for her. "Yes…"  
  
Makari handed her two more berries, which she also downed rather quickly. Now, after eating four whole fruits, she felt somewhat full.   
  
As she swallowed her last bite, she glanced up at Makari. He was still sitting there, waiting patiently for her to finish eating. There was still that warm, welcoming smile on his face. Somehow, Roxy felt a little more at ease when he was smiling at her like that. Given this, as well as his generous offer of fruit to her, she was beginning to believe that he was someone she could trust.  
  
"Thank you," she said quietly.  
  
"You are very welcome," he replied, "I am glad that you enjoyed them."  
  
A demure smile appeared on her face as she nodded. She then glanced at her surroundings once more, her smile vanishing. "Um…" she murmured, "Makari? Right?"   
  
He nodded and then said, "May I ask what your name is, young one?"  
  
"I…I'm Roxy."  
  
"Roxy…" he spoke the name slowly, his gaze drifting upwards for a moment as he considered it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Roxy," he said at last. She noticed that he seemed to pronounce it strangely, as if he were saying 'Rakasi'.  
  
She then continued speaking. "I…You were there. The…" She shivered. "The Zangoose was chasing me…"  
  
He nodded again. "Yes. I was collecting food with Taka when we heard your cries. I am thankful that we were able to drive him away before he could hurt you."  
  
Roxy's eyes widened slightly. "So…You saved my life?"  
  
"Well, yes. Did we frighten you when we arrived? If so, I am sorry."  
  
She gulped and smiled sheepishly. "Um…k-kinda… You had, um…weapons." She glanced away, rubbing the back of her neck with her paw. "But, uh…Thanks for saving me. I wouldn't be here right now if not for you."  
  
"It is the least we could do. You are one of us, after all."  
  
Roxy gave him a look. "What do you mean by that?" Her ears perked up as a burning question once more made itself heard in her mind. "Where am I?" she asked, leaning forward and looking Makari right in the eyes, "How did I get here? What happened?"  
  
Makari was slightly taken aback by her sudden audacity, but he grinned and stood up. "If you are feeling okay, then perhaps you would like to see for yourself?" On his hind legs, he walked over to the hut's doorway and held the leaves open, gesturing for her to follow.  
  
Roxy glanced around for a moment. Her anxious mind told her to stay put, but she decided that not much good was going to come of staying inside of an empty room. She too stood up, pausing for a moment as her muscles felt stiff, and then walked over towards Makari.  
  
The other Pikachu looked back at her and held out one of his paws, palm up.  
  
Roxy looked at it for a moment, then up at Makari. She hesitated for a brief moment, and then reached out with one of her own paws. Their two paws joined, and Roxy immediately felt a brief tingling sensation dancing across her skin. She knew what it was right away; it was Makari's Static ability.  
  
Makari glanced at her paw with his brow furrowed for a moment, but then went back to smiling at her. "Follow me," was all he said. The next thing Roxy knew, she was being led through the leaves and out of the door.  
  
Roxy had no idea what to expect outside of the primitive walls of the hut. Some rural human village perhaps? What she did see made her jaw slowly drop and her eyes grow as wide as milk saucers. For a few minutes she simply stared, walking automatically as Makari led her along.  
  
She was in a village, this much was true. However, there wasn't a human in sight. Instead, Roxy soon found herself _surrounded_ by Pikachu. There were tons of them and they were everywhere! Roxy was led into a fairly large clearing in the trees, where some simplistic huts had been constructed out of grass and wood. There were a few wooden platforms and ladders made of grass leading up into the trees, where there were one or two treehouses also constructed. It really was a village, and its inhabitants were Pikachu.  
  
They all looked like Makari did. They all had some kind of green markings painted on their fur. To some, it gave them a warrior-like appearance, while on others it looked more artistic. Many were carrying the same pouch that Makari had, while others had shoulder-straps, headbands and headdresses, or other decorations like feathers or necklaces.  
  
Many of them were also carrying sheathed weapons.  
  
Makari continued to leisurely lead her through the place, and she couldn't help but stare. It looked like she was still in the same wild forest, especially because she couldn't imagine those two Pikachu carrying her terribly far, but this was unlike anything she had seen prior. No matter how simplistic or primitive it may have been, this was a civilization.  
  
As she continued to look, she realized that not _all_ of the population were Pikachu. Her kind simply made up the vast majority. There were also a number of young Pichu to be seen, but also a couple of different species altogether. She saw a few Plusle and Minun, some Dedenne, Emolga and Pachirisu. She spotted a single Jolteon, as well as a family of a Shinx, Luxio and Luxray.  
  
It was not hard to see the common theme amongst the villagers. Everywhere she looked, Roxy saw only Electric types.  
  
"Makari?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Her question died on her tongue for a moment before she found her voice. "Wh…Where am I?"  
  
The two came to a stop off to the side of the village centre, where Makari let go of her paw and turned around. He put on a big welcoming smile and said to her, "This is the village of the Thunder Tribe. We welcome you."  
  
Roxy slowly turned around on the spot, taking in the sights of the little village that surrounded her. She was completely awestruck. She had never seen so many Electric-types, not to mention so many Pikachu, in one place before. Every one of them, even those who were not Pikachu, had green markings of some kind. Aside from the construction, there wasn't a single sign of humans anywhere to be found.  
  
"Did…" she spoke, her disbelief making her mind feel heavy, "Did you…build all of this?"  
  
"We did," Makari replied, "We of the Thunder Tribe are gifted with our strong minds and nimble forepaws. When we work together, it is but a simple feat to build something sturdy that will keep the rain off of one's head."  
  
"Wow…" she whispered.   
  
"Come with me, Roxy," he said, taking her paw once more, "There are those who wish to meet you."  
  
Roxy allowed herself to be led along once again, but her eyes continued to roam around her fantastic surroundings. She began to notice that a lot of the Pokémon were staring at her as she passed. They were not hateful stares by any stretch of the imagination, but they were not as friendly and welcoming as Makari either.  
  
"Um…Makari?" she spoke up, "Can you tell me…what happened?"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The last thing I remember was the…Zangoose, and I was panicking so hard that I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going. How did I get here? What…?" She trailed off.  
  
"Ah," Makari replied, "Well, according to Kazaka you were on the land of the Braveheart Tribe. They lie to the west of us, across the creek."  
  
Roxy remembered the creek she had crossed. "I think I was…and then I crossed over into…?"  
  
"Yes, you crossed into our lands. Kazaka should not have followed you, but he has never been one to follow our laws. Taka and I heard your cry and came to your rescue. When I approached you, however, you passed out." He paused for a brief moment. "I brought you back to our village, where our healer tended to your wounds. We then left you to sleep until you woke up."  
  
Roxy stopped walking, causing Makari to pause and look back at her. "Roxy?"  
  
"Makari…" She was staring at the ground, her mind processing this information. A cloud of worry passed over her, and she then looked up at the other Pikachu with nervous eyes. "…Where am I?"  
  
Makari seemed confused by the question. "Where? Erm…You are in our village, as I have told you."  
  
She shook her head. "I know, but…Where is _that_? Where's this…forest? Except for the Zangoose's place and here, I have no idea where in the world I am. Am I still in Kanto?"  
  
The larger Pikachu frowned and replied, "I have no answers for these questions, I am afraid. The forest extends far, spreading across the mountains and reaching for the horizons." When he saw her distraught face, he continued. "That being said, there are some in this village who may have a better answer."  
  
Roxy's face immediately brightened. "Really??"  
  
"Yes. You will meet them in due time. Let us not get ahead of ourselves, okay?" He held out his paw once more.  
  
"Um…Okay…" Roxy said meekly as she took his paw. The pair continued through the village at a leisurely pace, and Roxy took another moment to gaze at her surroundings. While she did, her mind was struggling to come to grips with what was happening. She didn't seem to be in danger anymore, but that didn't make her situation any less stressful. Honestly, she was not any closer to figuring out where she was or how she had gotten there. At the very least, she had made a friendly acquaintance.  
  
"Um, Makari?"  
  
"Yes, young one?"  
  
Roxy glanced around, feeling slightly uneasy. "Why are they all…looking at me?"  
  
Makari chuckled. "You are a stranger to us. It is very rare that we encounter strangers, much less of our kind, so your arrival is somewhat unusual. Give them time and I am sure you will be welcomed."  
  
Roxy's ears fell as she looked back towards the centre of the village, which they had passed. She counted the sets of eyes still resting on her. A multitude of Pikachu and Pichu, as well as some Emolga and Pachirisu, held their gazes upon her. She glanced back at Makari for a brief moment, then she awkwardly raised her free paw up and gave them a wave. No-one waved back.  
  
The two continued forward in silence, with Roxy starting to feel more awkward than afraid. Makari quickly showed her the places where they stored their food, where their healer's hut was, and where to get fresh water. They then continued through the trees and away from the main area of the village. Soon, there were much fewer villagers around them.  
  
The two of them approached a rather unique sight. In a small clearing between some trees, wood and leaves had been set up to make a sort of 'curtained wall' in a three-sided formation. It was like a fence with a leaf blanket draped over it. The two rounded the trees and approached the open side of the area, though Roxy was a little hesitant. She could hear distinctly loud noises coming from within.  
  
It sounded like fighting. Roxy hesitated at first, but allowed herself to be led forward by Makari. There, in the confines of the three walls, was what looked like a training area. There were a couple of wooden logs stuck in the ground, as well as slices of wood with unusual symbols on them. They resembled dummies and targets, which was supported by the number of dents and holes in each of them.  
  
Roxy's eyes, however, were drawn to the main attraction. In the middle of all of the targets, there was a Pikachu in the midst of some intense training. Roxy's eyes grew wide as she watched the Pikachu move with incredible speed and grace. He was deft on his feet, never stopping or staying in the same spot for long. As he used his weapon to strike the targets, he mixed in dodging techniques like twirls and midair flips. A number of times he jumped and rebounded off of the walls or the targets.  
  
Roxy was astounded, and a little bit intimidated, by the display of skill she was watching. He was moving with such expert speed and precision that it was hard to even see what weapon he was using. Once she caught a glance of it, however, things became a little clearer to her. The Pikachu's wooden boomerang twirled through the air, bounced off the targets, and made a painful _thunk_ every time it hit. He would catch it and throw it again without fail every time.  
  
She and Makari stood and watched for a minute or two. After striking each target at least 20 times, the training match finally came to an end. He finished off the show by catching his boomerang, leaping and flipping through the air to land next to the largest target, and bringing down the blunt end of the boomerang _hard_ on top of it. A crack formed in the wood and traveled right down to the centre of the slice.  
  
Roxy felt a shiver go up her spine as silence suddenly filled the area. She glanced at Makari and whispered to him. "That's Taka, right?"  
  
Makari nodded, a proud smile on his face. "Indeed that is Taka. One of our greatest warriors."  
  
Taka had heard them talking, turning his head to glance back at them with one eye. Roxy shivered again as that one, single eye gazed right at her. It was not angry or vengeful, but it still sent a brief spike of fear right down her back. She could tell he was formidable from his glance alone.  
  
"Fine work as always, Taka," Makari commented, "I do wish you would stop breaking our targets, however."  
  
Taka ignored him and turned around, marching towards them and keeping his gaze on Roxy. His gaze slowly changed from intimidating to cool indifference. His lips formed an emotionless line, though his brows were slightly knitted. He stopped once he was in standing in front of them.  
  
He looked the same as when he had fought the Zangoose. The sharp lines and triangles that the green paint formed had not changed. The two pairs of marks under his eyes were just as striking and iconic as before.   
  
"I see she is awake," he spoke. His somewhat deep voice gave her an icy sensation.   
  
"Um…Hello," Roxy said, trying meekly to smile and be friendly, "I-"  
  
"Makari," Taka interrupted, glancing at his companion, "I trust you have not forgotten that the wise ones want to see her immediately."  
  
The Pikachu in question narrowed his gaze. "Of course I have not forgotten. I am taking her there now, but there is no rush. She is not our enemy, Taka. I am showing her around."  
  
"You should show her around _after_ you have done what you have been told to do." Now Taka's gaze had shifted more towards anger. Though an inch shorter than Makari, Taka was glaring at him as if he were ten feet tall.  
  
"Taka…" Makari said in a warning tone. He did not adopt an aggressive stance, but his body language made it clear that he wasn't going to be pushed around.  
  
Roxy jumped slightly when Taka's gaze suddenly shifted back to her, and it still looked quite less than jovial. Though he had brown eyes like any other Pikachu, Roxy got the strange sensation that they should have been a striking icy blue.   
  
An awkward silence passed between the three. Roxy shifted between staring bewildered at Taka, glancing to Makari for help, and eying Taka's weapon.  
  
"Um…" Roxy murmured, trying to break the thick layer of ice, "Taka…I wanted to thank you for saving my life back there. If it hadn't been for you, heh…I would be Zangoose chow."  
  
Taka somehow managed to look even less amused. He was pretty close to outright glaring at her by now. "I was _not_ saving your life," he replied curtly, "I was defending our land from an intruder."  
  
Roxy was a little taken aback. "Oh… Um, well… I guess, thanks anyway?" Another moment of uncomfortable silence passed. "Uh…You're really good with your b- that thing," she said, unsure if they called it a 'boomerang' or not, "Your battling is amazing."  
  
The Pikachu glared at her for another moment, then sharply turned his head back to the left. "Makari!" he barked, "Take her to the wise ones."  
  
"Taka," Makari replied in a tone that clearly voiced his lack of patience, "There is no need for behaviour like this. Where is your sense of hospitality?" He sighed, and then turned to face her and extended one paw towards her. "Taka, this is Roxy."  
  
Roxy's cheeks flushed and she timidly held up a paw. "H-hi…"  
  
Taka was back to glaring at her, though now his eyes were wide open. "'Roxy'?!" he exclaimed.  
  
Frightened by his outburst, Roxy took a step back and lowered her ears. "Y-yes, my name is-"  
  
"You _see_?!" Taka yelled, turning to face Makari, "I have told you, Makari! What did I say when we found her? Do you not recall my words?!"  
  
"Taka…"  
  
"'Roxy' is a pathetic name that was given by _humans_! I knew who she was! If the collar around her neck was not enough, see how she still unashamedly holds on to her _human_ name!" Taka then pointed a paw accusingly at her. "She belongs to a trainer! She is not free like us!"  
  
"Taka, stop this."  
  
However, Taka wasn't listening. He was practically fuming at this point. "I _told_ you we should have left her there! Better yet, we should have thrown her back over the creek along with Kazaka. You have a soft heart, Makari! You are a fool! I told you not to bring her back, but you did anyway. You brought a human's Pokémon to our village!"  
  
" _Taka!!_ "  
  
Makari's shout cut through the forest, causing the whole place to fall eerily silent. Roxy could have sworn that even the bug and bird Pokémon that could be heard in the distance had stopped making noise.  
  
Roxy simply stood there, a worried look on her face, feeling completely uncomfortable. What had just happened? Taka had just said he had wanted to leave her out where the Zangoose attacked. He had wanted to cast her out. From what he had said, Roxy could picture Taka simply walking away and leaving her unconscious form and Makari behind.  
  
But why? What had she done? She barely even knew these two Pokémon. The glare Taka was now giving her sent shivers down her spine. He almost looked like he outright _hated_ her. He simply stood there, silently judging her. Roxy was afraid of saying anything else for fear of setting him off again. After all, she had seen how dangerous he could be.  
  
After a few tense moments of silence had passed, Taka abruptly turned around and began walking away. "Bring her," he commanded, not even looking at Makari as he departed. Moments later, he had disappeared into the trees.  
  
"M…Makari…?" Roxy whispered.  
  
The other Pikachu sighed and gave her an apologetic look. "I am sorry about him, Roxy."  
  
Roxy slowly walked over and stood next to him once more. "Why is he like that…?"  
  
Makari glanced ahead at nothing while he spoke. "Taka does not trust outsiders. He is very protective of our village and our clan. The truth is that you are still a stranger to us, and Taka does not treat strangers kindly."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
"But…It is more than that I am afraid. Taka has a deep hatred and distrust for humans. We live far from humans and they seldom bother us, but Taka views them as dangerous enemies. He is dismissive of anything to do with humans. It seems that we were correct in assuming that you belong to a human, yes?"  
  
Roxy blinked, sadness filling her heart. Her master had been on her mind the whole time she had been out here, but now that her life was no longer in danger her mind focused on how much she missed her. Roxy still didn't know where she was, but she didn't want to be there. She wanted to be in the arms of her master. "Yes," she replied with a nod.  
  
Another moment of silence passed. Roxy was broken out of her reverie by Makari holding out his paw once more. "Come," he spoke in an inviting voice, "As I am sure you are aware now, the wise ones would like to meet you."  
  
Roxy took his paw and looked up to him. "The wise ones?"  
  
"Yes, they are the leaders of our village."  
  
"Oh." Roxy gulped, feeling a strange sense of agitation. Going to see these 'wise ones' could lead to any number of outcomes. If they were the leaders of this village, then it stood to reason that her fate lay in their hands. They could welcome her much like Makari had, and perhaps even help her find her way home. Or, they could end up distrusting her like Taka and cast her out. Then, she would be right back where she started.  
  
Maybe they would do something worse.  
  
"Um…" she murmured as Makari started to lead her in the same direction that Taka had gone, "Are they…nice?"  
  
Makari chuckled. "Calm yourself, Roxy. You have nothing to fear from the wise ones, nor anyone in this village. That includes Taka. As long as you do nothing to warrant it, no-one will harm you. If you do not attack us, then we will not attack you." He turned and gave her a sidelong glance. "I trust you will not attack us, will you?"  
  
Roxy quickly shook her head. "N-no! I wouldn't dream of…"  
  
"Wonderful," Makari spoke, "That is what I believed. Even when I first laid eyes on you, you did not strike me as someone malicious. It is comforting to hear the words from your mouth as well."  
  
For a moment, Roxy simply glanced away deep in thought. "Um…Makari?" she spoke at last, "I'm really grateful for you and Taka rescuing me from the Zangoose…and to you for welcoming me to this place, but…" Roxy frowned. "I'm still so confused."  
  
Makari gave her a sympathetic smile. "I am sure that you are. For that reason, I think it may be best that we see the wise ones now. Truthfully, I know not what lies in store, but they will certainly be able to answer most of your questions."  
  
Roxy gave him an unsure look for a moment, but then steeled herself and nodded. "Okay," she spoke, trying to force herself not to assume that the 'wise ones' were going to kick her out.  
  
"Very well, young one. Follow me."  
  
Makari then led her through the trees once more, headed in the direction that Taka had gone. As she walked, Roxy kept glancing around at her surroundings as questions assaulted her mind. Who were these wise ones and what would they be like? They probably wouldn't be dangerous, but then again anything was possible. Would one of them know how she could get home?  
  
As her mind continued to run like this, she became absentminded. She almost didn't notice when Makari stopped walking, which jolted her out of her stupor. She looked ahead to see where Makari had brought her, and her eyes widened at what she saw.  
  
It was a fairly large clearing in the trees, with a natural mound of grassy soil in the centre. Taka was there, standing with his forelegs crossed and staring at her. The mound was covered in leaves and torn grass, forming a relatively comfortable looking place to sit, and there were a few small saplings growing from atop the mound. There on the grass and leaves, two sitting down and one leaning against one of the trees, were who Roxy could only assume were the wise ones.  
  
They were Raichu. _Big_ Raichu. Of course, Raichu were naturally bigger than their pre-evolved forms, but they looked noticeably bigger compared to Roxy's small stature. Just like everyone else in the village, they had green body paint and tribal-like adornments.  
  
What struck Roxy, however, was how young the Raichu were. They were not as young as her or Makari, but they were still quite young and fit. Hearing the name 'wise ones' had made Roxy think of old grizzled Pokémon who had been around for years upon years. She had thought about 'elders' from stories or ancient human cultures. These Raichu were probably only a few years older than she was.  
  
Beside her, Makari pulled his right foreleg against his chest and bowed his head forward a little. A frantic voice in the back of her mind told her that she should be doing the same thing, but she couldn't. Roxy was frozen on the spot with fear.  
  
"Greetings, Makari."  
  
A shiver ran up Roxy's spine. That Raichu had a _commanding_ voice. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had moved herself behind Makari, gently clutching at his arm for support. She was trying to control herself and keep from trembling like a leaf, but she wasn't doing a very good job. The truth was that Roxy was afraid of Raichu. All of the Raichu she had met or seen on TV had been big, tough bullies. They towered over her and were always so much bigger. Just looking at one made her feel small and afraid.  
  
Makari turned to look at Roxy, looking a little bemused. "Are you okay?" he asked, "These are the wise ones."   
  
"I…" Roxy murmured, realizing that the eyes of all three Raichu were staring directly at her. She shivered a little, feeling intimidated beneath their gazes. These were apparently the leaders of this whole village of Electric-types, and they were all big, strong Raichu. None of them looked especially displeased, but Roxy believed that could change in an instant the moment she said the wrong thing.  
  
"I thought…I didn't know they would be…" She paused and gulped. "I thought they would be older…"  
  
Makari looked confused for a moment, but then he gave her his comforting smile. "Whatever do you mean? They are the leaders of our tribe. The strongest and smartest. Having demonstrated themselves as being the most intelligent and knowledgeable of our tribe, as well as their superb leadership skills, we have bestowed upon them the honoured title of 'wise one' and entrust the leadership of our tribe to them."  
  
Roxy didn't even look at Makari as he talked, and continued to stare in fear at the three large Pokémon sitting atop the mound. Two of them were quietly conversing with one another. "Oh…" she whimpered.  
  
Makari chuckled and then turned, extending his paw to indicate each one in turn, "This is Natoka, Karizu and Ozu." He gave her a pat on the back and then added, "Calm down. You have nothing to fear."  
  
Roxy simply looked up at the three, sitting on the mound and looking down upon her.   
  
Natoka was the one leaning against the tree. He didn't look like he was lazily lounging, but merely resting. He was the only one of the three with a frown on his face as he looked down at her. Compared to the others, Natoka was covered in scars and battle wounds. There was the sign of a large gash on his chest, and half of the thunder bolt shape on his tail had been bitten off. Roxy got the idea that he had been through a lot.  
  
Karizu was the largest of the three. He wore an elaborate necklace with many differently coloured painted pebbles on it. The design of the green paint on his face was swirly and curving. It sort of resembled half of a heart, though it was a bit of a stretch to say so.   
  
Finally there was Ozu. He seemed like the oldest of the three, though still not that much older than her. He also didn't seem quite as physically fit as his companions. There was a subtle frown on his face, though it didn't seem to be directed at her. His eyes seemed like they had been enduring sleepiness for weeks.  
  
"Is this the young female, Makari?" Oku spoke. His voice wasn't as commanding as Natoka's, who had spoken earlier, but Roxy still shrunk back a little in fear.  
  
"She is, Ozu," Makari responded.  
  
"Step forward, young one," Karizu spoke, "We wish to speak with you." His voice was the least harsh-sounding of the group.  
  
"Go ahead," Makari urged, but Roxy remained rooted to the spot.  
  
"I-" she started to say, but was suddenly interrupted.  
  
" _Step. Forward._ " Taka's voice cut through the air like a knife, nearly making her leap out of her skin.  
  
Roxy looked over at him, seeing that he was still giving her that untrusting glare. She glanced up at the three Raichu, seeing that two of them were looking at her expectantly. They didn't seem cross, though the third was cross at someone else. Karizu was giving Taka a dirty look, though the Pikachu hadn't noticed. With a tremble in her step, Roxy took a few tiny steps forward and gulped. "Um…H-hi…"   
  
"Welcome, young one," Karizu said simply. Roxy shrunk under his gaze.  
  
"Miri has treated her wounds," Makari spoke from behind her, "Kazaka did not cause her any serious damage. In the short time I have spent with her, she has not shown any signs of aggression so you have nothing to worry about, wise ones."  
  
Roxy remembered, a long time ago, watching her master give a speech to a large crowd. She remembered how scared her master looked, and now could finally empathize with her. Taka was glaring daggers at her, Natoka was observing her with an unreadable expression, and Ozu looked like he was studying her.  
  
Karizu stood out from the bunch. He was the only one of the four who was smiling. He sat himself up straighter and leaned forward, bringing his head just a little bit closer down towards her. "There is no need to worry, young one," he spoke in a calming voice, "You have done nothing wrong, so we have no reason for malice. Please tell us your name."  
  
"Uh…" Roxy murmured, feeling a lump in her throat. "It's…um…" She glanced back at Makari for support, seeing him standing behind her with that same encouraging smile. "It's…  
  
"Her name is _Roxy_ ," Taka suddenly interjected, and all eyes fell on him. Roxy could literally hear the venom dripping from his words, as if he had uttered something disgusting.   
  
"'Roxy'?" Natoka spoke.  
  
"That is correct," Taka replied, "She is…"  
  
Roxy has been listening and watching them speak, fear still coursing through her veins, but then her roving eyes fell upon something that was lying on the ground nearby. Her ears perked up and she gasped.  
  
"My collar!!"  
  
She didn't hesitate to quickly start running over to the opposite side of the glade, where her leather collar and the little red flower were. Elation flooded through her once she had seen the items. Her heart leapt for joy as she raced over to the items that she had thought were lost forever.  
  
Roxy let out a startled gasp as she felt something hook onto her shoulder and pull back, quickly bringing her to a halt. She glanced back in confusion, and saw that Taka had grabbed onto her with one end of his boomerang. She saw that he was glaring at her, quickly bringing her current setting back into the forefront of her mind. For a moment, she had completely forgotten where she was.  
  
" _What_ do you think you are doing?!" Taka demanded.  
  
"I…I…" Roxy murmured, overcome with fear.  
  
" _Sit! Down!_ "  
  
Roxy was frozen, staring in horror at the very angry-looking Pikachu holding onto her with his weapon. Her eyes darted up to the three Raichu, seeing them all looking down at her with varying degrees of confusion and concern.  
  
"You see?" Taka shouted, turning his head up to the wise ones, "You see how she immediately runs for the human's banding. That thing over there is a symbol of her human owner, and her first instinct is to get it back. She belongs to a _human_ , wise ones! She does not belong here!"  
  
"I…But, I…" Roxy sputtered.  
  
"She holds on to the pathetic name that her human gave her, and she wants to make it known that she is not wild like us. She is an outsider and a danger to our tribe."  
  
"Taka…" Karizu tried to interject.  
  
"I have warned you about Pokémon like her. The humans train them to fight against each other, and to fight wild Pokémon, so that they may be caught and enslaved as well. Her human owner is probably not far off!"  
  
"Wh- No!" Roxy exclaimed, starting to feel overwhelmed, "It's not- I- I just…!"  
  
"Taka, we-" Karizu tried to speak once again.  
  
Instead, Taka thrust an accusing paw towards Makari. "I told him to leave her, wise ones. He did not obey. This is not the first time his soft heart has gotten us into trouble. She cannot stay. She is _not_ one of us. We should-"  
  
" _Taka!_ "  
  
Natoka's shout finally managed to shut the agitated Pikachu up. He fell silent and glanced up at the Raichu, but his expression still remained indignant.  
  
"Taka, be silent," Karizu said, "It is not your place to decide. Your concerns have been heard, now stand down."  
  
A moment of uncomfortable silence passed, and then Taka lifted his boomerang off of her shoulder. "As you wish, wise ones," he said with a respectful bow.  
  
The Raichu then turned to look at her, startling her. She was like a statue, frozen in place and afraid to make even the smallest movement.   
  
"Roxy?" Karizu spoke. Just like Makari, he said her name in a strange way.  
  
She gulped, but couldn't find her voice.  
  
"Do those items belong to you?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Would you like to have them?"  
  
She hesitated, but then nodded again.  
  
Karizu extended a paw in the direction of the items. "Then you may retrieve them."  
  
"But, Karizu-!" Taka interjected.  
  
"The items belong to her," Karizu responded curtly, "She may do whatever she wishes with them." When he turned back to her and saw that she hadn't moved a muscle, he gave her a gentle smile. "It is okay, Roxy. You may have them back."  
  
Still feeling afraid and unsure, Roxy glanced over to Makari. He too gave an encouraging smile and nodded. Roxy gulped, and then looked back up at the Raichu. "Are…are you sure?" she muttered, her voice quieter than a baby Rattata's.  
  
"We are sure," Ozu replied.  
  
"O…Okay…" Roxy willed herself to move and slowly walked over to where her stuff was lying. She glanced back at the other Pokémon a few times, just to make sure they hadn't suddenly changed their minds, but soon enough she had reached them.   
  
Roxy's eyes danced as they fell upon her collar, safe and undamaged. The little nametag with her name engraved on it was still there. She reached down and picked it up, feeling the familiar texture of the leather on her paws. Roxy couldn't help herself, and hugged the collar like it was a teddy bear. It was an indescribable feeling that she felt. Even though it was just an inanimate piece of leather, Roxy felt like she had at last reconnected with her master, even if only in a very small way. Just holding the collar made her feel a little more at ease.  
  
She heard a voice scoff from behind her, which brought her back to reality. She glanced over her shoulders, seeing Taka giving her a disgusted look. Her cheeks flushed and she looked away, quickly wrapping the collar around her neck. She fumbled with the buckle a little bit, since her master was usually the one to put it on, but she eventually got it. She then picked up the flower and carefully attached it behind her ear. Thankfully, it too was undamaged. Finally, Roxy sighed in contentment. Things felt just a little more right than before.  
  
"Roxy!"  
  
The Pikachu turned around upon hearing Makari's voice, and saw him indicating the Raichu with a nod of his head. She understood the message and turned to face them. She still felt small and vulnerable under their gazes, but she did feel better now that her accessories were back. "Th…Thank you…"  
  
Karizu nodded. "You are quite welcome, young one. We may not know who you are or where you come from, but as long as you do not cause any trouble while you are here you will be treated well. I trust that you will not, right?"  
  
Roxy jumped slightly. "N-no! I, um- No! I wouldn't…" She glanced down, fiddling with her paws. "I…I don't want to cause any trouble."  
  
"Honestly, why do you insist on wearing those?" Taka spoke up. He had toned down the intensity in his voice, but Roxy could still hear the venom dripping from his words.  
  
"Taka," Ozu said, adopting a rather philosophical tone of voice, "Many warriors of the Thunder Clan wear accessories on their body. Look at the feather Makari wears. Hers may look different, but are they not the same?"  
  
Taka glanced at both of them, and decided to remain silent.  
  
"My…" Roxy muttered quietly, "My master gave them to me…"  
  
Immediately, a scowl returned to Taka's face. "Your _human_?"  
  
"Taka, that is enough for now," Natoka interjected, giving the Pikachu a commanding stare.  
  
"Indeed," Karizu concurred, and then turned to Roxy and continued. "Now then, young one…Roxy…Perhaps you could enlighten us. Strangers in the forest are exceedingly rare, after all. Please, tell us your story."  
  
Subconsciously, Roxy found herself looking over at Makari again for support, as if he somehow knew all of the answers. It was a silly notion, after all, since only she knew her own backstory. Feeling a little nervous and put on the spot, she looked up at the three Raichu looking down at her. It was like a parody of the classic 'see, hear, speak no evil' Chimchar picture. Karizu was smiling, Ozu looked neutral, while Natoka still had a touch of judgement in his eyes.  
  
"Well, um…Okay…" she started awkwardly, "My name is Roxy. Um…I guess you already knew that. And, I…Um…Well, the truth is that I'm lost." She paused. "Like, _really_ lost."  
  
"Is that so?" Karizu replied, "Where is your home?"  
  
"Kanto."  
  
The five others all exchanged confused glances.   
  
"Umm…V-Vermillion City…?"  
  
"It is obviously a human village," Taka replied in a droll tone.  
  
"Do you know which direction it is?" Ozu asked, "East? West?"  
  
Roxy frowned. "I have no idea…I don't even know where I am right now."  
  
Karizu nodded his head. "I see. We will return to this subject later. Tell me, Roxy. How did you come by our forest? Makari and Taka tell me they found you near the border of the Braveheart Tribe."  
  
Her expression became very distressed, ears lying flat against her head. "That's just it! I…I don't know! I was supposed to go on the airplane and wake up in Kalos, and instead I'm here!"  
  
She was met with blank stares.  
  
Roxy groaned. "I…" She realized that she had to choose her words more carefully. She had to remind herself that she was amongst Pokémon that were evidently very isolated from humans. "I was in my Poké Ball while at home in Kanto. I was supposed to come out of my Poké Ball in another, um…human village. In Kalos. But I didn't…"  
  
An afterthought occurred to her. "Do you guys know what a Poké Ball is?"  
  
They all shared a look, with expressions ranging from knowing to fear and even to disgust. "We do," Natoka answered.  
  
"It is how the humans keep hold of you," Taka replied darkly.  
  
"Um…" Roxy faltered. "So, yeah…Um…My master put me into my Poké Ball before she started to travel…but I came out of the Poké Ball in this forest…by a big river. A-and, the ball was _broken_ …like somebody'd smashed it up!" She shivered and hugged her tail. "Something happened to me while I was in that ball…and I have no idea what it was…"  
  
"You poor thing," Karizu said with a sympathetic frown, "That must have been very frightening, especially considering that you woke up on the far side of the Braveheart Tribe."  
  
Roxy nodded. "There was an Aggron…a-and then the Zangoose…"  
  
"Well, you need not worry about them any longer," Karizu said, "You are among your own kind now. You are much safer."  
  
Taka scoffed, earning another glare from the three Raichu.  
  
"So," Ozu spoke up, "just so that we are all clear…As far as you know, your trainer is not in our forest? They could be even a great distance away from this place?"  
  
Roxy looked up at the Raichu as Ozu asked the question. Though she understood where he was coming from, every word out of his mouth was like a knife through her heart. The trying times she had been through lately had been a great distraction, but now things were starting to hit home again. She thought about how far away her master probably was, and how hard it would be for either of them to find one another.  
  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she softly nodded her head.  
  
"That is good," Natoka replied somewhat gruffly, "Humans have no place in this forest."  
  
"Natoka is right," Ozu concurred, "Your trainer's presence would cause problems here, young one."  
  
"If your trainer _does_ set foot in our forest, or on our land," Taka cut in, "I promise you they will _not_ be treated well."  
  
Roxy looked around at the others, sweating and fidgeting nervously. "I…I don't think she- I don't know! I just want to find her and go home!"  
  
"Do not listen to Taka," Makari spoke, "We sympathize with your plight, but there are more important things to consider right now."  
  
Taka scoffed and glared at her once more. "The slave of a Pokémon Trainer," he spat, "Fighting others for sport, spending all of your time cooped up in a tiny cage…"  
  
"Um…" Roxy murmured, glancing between the wise ones and Taka, "Y-you keep saying- She is not a Pokémon Trainer. She's my master."  
  
Taka narrowed his gaze. "What…?"  
  
"What do you mean by that, young one?" Ozu asked.  
  
"Well, I just mean…I'm not part of a Pokémon Trainer's team. I have a Poké Ball, but that's just because of Kanto law. My master and I don't do the whole, y'know, battling thing. I live with her, in her house. She feeds me and takes care of me, and we enjoy each other's company." She sniffled. "And…I miss her so much."  
  
She saw both Makari and Karizu give her sympathetic gazes, which did make her feel a little better. What she had not expected, however, was to see Taka getting even more incensed than before. He was looking at her in complete disbelief.  
  
"Oh dear heavens, you _cannot_ be serious!" he exclaimed, thrusting his paws into the air in exasperation, "This is _worse_ than I had thought."  
  
"Wh-wha…?" Roxy murmured.  
  
"She is a _pet_!!"  
  
Roxy blinked, shrinking back against Taka's rage.  
  
"She is no threat to us, but the reality is not much better!" Taka continued, pointing his paw at her, "She is a pathetic, worthless excuse for a Pokémon. A human's _pet_!"  
  
"Taka, control yourself," Natoka interjected.  
  
"What is a 'pet'?" Karizu asked.  
  
"Pokémon that belong to trainers are slaves of the humans who fight for them, but _pets_ like her are the very antithesis of who we are. Pets are lazy, they are gluttonous, and they are greedy. They live sordid, pathetic lives under the pampering of their humans, erasing everything about them that makes them a Pokémon!"  
  
Roxy just hugged her tail, staring wide-eyed at the furious Pikachu.  
  
"Look at her, wise ones! I had thought she seemed a little frail and jumpy, and now it makes sense! She cannot stay here. She is no fighter! She is barely a Pokémon! Let her find her own way back to her 'master'."  
  
Roxy quickly felt all eyes fall upon her. She suddenly wished that she was a Squirtle so that she could hide in her shell. Hearing Taka's prejudice against humans had been bad enough, but his verbal onslaught had shaken her right to the core. She didn't even understand some of the things he had said. It was insulting and belittling, and it only served to magnify all of the worries and anxieties she had been feeling ever since she had arrived in this damned forest.  
  
"Roxy…?" Makari spoke in a concerned voice, but the Pikachu didn't reply. Instead, she did the only thing that made sense to her any more.  
  
Roxy started to cry.


	4. The Spark

Roxy wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she felt a lot better since she had stopped crying.   
  
She knew that at some point she had been invited to sit upon the mound with the three Raichu, who were sitting nearby but still giving her space. Makari was there too, sitting a little closer than they were, and Taka had been sent away. Everything had been such a whirlwind of emotions that it was all a blur to her and she was finally beginning to regain her composure.  
  
"I'm sorry…" she murmured as she munched on the pink Pecha Berry Makari had brought her.  
  
"You have nothing to apologize for," Makari said with a comforting pat on her back.  
  
"It is us who should be apologizing," Ozu concurred, "Taka is a respected warrior within our clan, but his temper can sometimes get the best of him."  
  
Roxy shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to cast out the memory of Taka's rage-filled yelling. "It's just so overwhelming…I don't want to be a bother or anything." She took another bite and gulped it down, relishing in the exceedingly sweet flavour. "I just…I think I need help. I'm in a really, really bad spot."  
  
The Raichu all murmured in agreement.  
  
"Roxy," Makari spoke, "It is clear to us that you wish to return to your human trai- Erm…Your master. Yes?"  
  
She nodded. "I just wanna go home…"  
  
Makari shared an unsure glance with the wise ones. "Well, Roxy, let me be realistic. I cannot say for certain what the future holds, but for the moment that is likely impossible."  
  
Roxy's ears fell and she frowned. "What…?"  
  
"Besides the fact that you should recover some more," Ozu started to say, but then trailed off.  
  
After a brief moment of silence, Karizu chimed in. "You have told us about who you are and where you come from, so perhaps we should do the same?"  
  
Roxy considered this and then nodded. "O-okay…"  
  
"What do you know so far?"  
  
"Um…Makari just told me that this is the village of the…Thunder Clan?"  
  
The Raichu nodded. "We are the Thunder Clan, and this village sits at the centre of our territory. We are bordered on all sides by neighbouring clans, including the Braveheart Tribe of whom you are all too familiar with. We, and all of the other clans, are wild Pokémon and we reside in the forest."  
  
"The…forest…" Roxy recalled the extensive forest she had seen when she had climbed up the tree.  
  
"Yes. This forest is scarcely tread upon by humans, aside from the rare visitor of whom always takes care not to disturb us. We have lived in this forest for generations, all of the clans."  
  
"Where is the forest?" Roxy asked, "Like, where is it located?"  
  
Ozu shook his head and said, "We do not know. The forest stretches to the horizon, home to a great number of foreign tribes."  
  
Roxy glanced down. "Yeah, I climbed a tree and saw. The forest is really, really big…But, don't you know what's _beyond_ the forest."  
  
"No-one has need to travel across the forest," Karizu replied, "So no-one does."  
  
Upon hearing those words, Roxy's heart sank. Not only were they a remote and wild tribe, but they were isolated as well. If none of them knew anything about the world she came from, or _anything_ past the endless sea of trees, it did not bode well for her.  
  
"You see, Roxy," Karizu continued, "traversing the forest would mean encroaching upon the land of other clans. With no good reason to do so, it would be foolish to attempt."  
  
Roxy frowned. "Are all of the other clans…like the Bravehearts…?" she asked, remembering how vicious her reception had been there.  
  
"Yes, and no…" Ozu replied enigmatically, "It can vary."  
  
"As clans we stick together," Natoka spoke, after having been silent for a while, "We are not savage creatures like our ancestors. We form understandings and agreements with one another, but in general this only helps if you stay put on your clan's territory."  
  
"The predators do not barge into our village and attack everyone, not only because we defend ourselves but because of our, admittedly weak, diplomatic ties," Ozu clarified.  
  
"P…Predators…" Roxy murmured.  
  
"Yes, young one…" Karizu said, "The food chain is still a dominant force in our forests. You may have noticed that even _we_ have predators in our clan."  
  
Roxy nodded, remembering the Luxio family.  
  
"So, do you understand now?"  
  
When Roxy didn't reply, Makari said something more. "Here in our village, you and all of us are relatively safe. Step beyond our borders and, well…"  
  
"I'll end up dinner," Roxy concluded morbidly.  
  
She felt Makari's paw on her back. "Roxy," he spoke, "The fact is that you arrived in this forest from the safety of your Poké Ball. But as you say, the Ball is now broken, so you no longer have that luxury. You should consider it a great fortune, however, that you managed to find us."  
  
Roxy glanced up at him, a heavy frown on her face. She saw him looking towards the Raichu with an unreadable expression. The three larger Pokémon shared a glance.  
  
"Makari, Roxy…" Natoka spoke, "We request a moment of private conference."  
  
Makari bowed his head. "Of course, Wise Ones." He then turned to her. "Roxy? Can you come this way please?"  
  
"Um…" Roxy gave the Raichu an uncertain glance before turning back to Makari. "Okay…"  
  
Makari led her down off of the mound and a few paces into the trees that surrounded the clearing. Glancing behind her, she could see the three Raichu having a quiet discussion amongst themselves.  
  
"What're they talking about…?" Roxy whispered, a quiet tremble snaking through her body.  
  
"I do not know for certain," Makari replied, "but it is nothing to be worried about. The Wise Ones are hardly known to keep secrets."  
  
Roxy gulped, accepting this information. They were obviously talking about her, and didn't want her to hear them until they had made a decision about something.  
  
"I am…sorry that this had to happen to you," Makari spoke in a low voice.  
  
She turned to look at him, gazing into his sympathetic eyes. "It all happened so suddenly…I've been torn away from my whole life, and now I'm in this nightmare…" She paused, and then realized something. "Well…You're not part of the nightmare. This village is definitely my silver lining."  
  
Makari grinned. "I am glad to hear that. Despite how _certain others_ might feel, in my opinion you are more than welcome to set paws in our village. Though you may come from an entirely different world than us, you are still a Pikachu. You were born a Pichu, the blood of a Pikachu runs through you, and the dancing thunder lies inside of you like it does all of us, waiting to be unleashed."  
  
Roxy blinked, not quite sure how to react to something like that. "Wow, um…Dancing thunder huh? Heh…" She cleared her throat. "Look, I'm really scared and freaked out, but…behind all of that I'm amazed. Your village…This whole place is so incredible. I have a thousand questions I want to ask! Taka was all mean, but…I hope the others are friendly. I would love to meet some of them."  
  
"I am sure they would be delighted to talk with you, especially once they get to know you."  
  
"Heh…I hope so…I dunno how long I'm gonna…" She trailed off, her eyes drifting back towards the Raichu. She was starting to get an idea of what they might be discussing.  
  
"Makari…?" she asked after a moment of silence.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"…Has anyone in this village…seen beyond the forest?"  
  
The other Pikachu paused before replying. "Yes," he said, "One."  
  
Roxy turned to look at him. "Really?" she said, her eyes open wide.  
  
Makari nodded and then simply said, "Taka."  
  
Before she had a chance to say anything else, the pair of them heard the Raichu summoning them back. Makari quickly took her paw and led her back up onto the mound to rejoin them. Once they were both seated, Karizu started speaking.  
  
"Roxy, we understand your desire to return home, and can guess that you are perhaps hoping we will help you get there. Unfortunately, that is not something the Thunder Clan will be able to do, at least not at this time."  
  
Roxy felt her heart sinking. She nodded slowly.  
  
"We can see…" Ozu continued, "It is clear from your words and your body language that you are out of your element. Your life back home with your human was a lot simpler and calmer, was it not?"  
  
"It was…"  
  
"These woods are dangerous for…well, for pets," Karizu spoke, taking care not to say 'pets' in a derogatory manner, "But the danger will only increase if you step beyond our borders."  
  
Roxy gulped and nodded slowly once more.  
  
"And so, we the Wise Ones have come to an agreement that the Thunder Clan would be willing to extend our paws in welcome. Above all else, you are a Pikachu. Thus far, you have not given us any reason to distrust you, and so long as this continues then we feel that we can treat you as one of our own."  
  
The young Pikachu looked between the three Raichu, looking just a little confused. "You…Y-you mean stay here? Like…live here?"  
  
The three Raichu nodded and then Karizu said, "You are from a different world, but you are one of us. You are a Pikachu at heart. We believe that you will fit in well enough as a member of our clan."  
  
"A member of your clan…" Roxy murmured, "I…Oh gosh…This is- I can't- I…" She felt a little overwhelmed by the request. No, it was more like an offer, but at the same time it was one she knew she couldn't refuse. This clan didn't want to set out through the forest and take her home, and she would never survive out there on her own anyway, so what choice did she have but to stay put?  
  
Makari rested his paw on her shoulder. "Trust me," he said, "Our brothers and sisters will quickly become your friends. Strangers are unusual to us, yes, but underneath we are all a very friendly group."  
  
His words made sense to her, but her head was starting to swirl with emotions. She thought about her home, far away in an unknown direction. She thought about the pristine streets and houses, the expansive and calm gardens, and the extensive wonders of human ingenuity that had contributed to such a comfortable lifestyle before. Hiking through the Viridian Woods didn't even come close to this place. To make a change so suddenly, Roxy wasn't sure she could do it.  
  
Then, she thought about her master. The embodiment of her whole world, Roxy's master was one who filled her life with joy and sunshine. Roxy couldn't even remember the last time she had spent more than a day without seeing her master. In her mind's eye, she saw her master's face twist and change into an expression of pure heart-break. Roxy could imagine that was what her master was going through, now that she was gone. It, in turn, broke her own heart.  
  
"Roxy…?"  
  
Upon hearing Makari's voice, Roxy realized that she was crying. She sniffled and tried to talk. "I…I jus…"  
  
She jumped slightly as she felt a pair of paws wrap around her, bringing her into a gentle hug. She glanced back and saw that it was Makari who was embracing her, gently rubbing her back with one of his paws. Her anguish melted a little from this. Makari was just so kind and comforting. Amidst a sea of strange, wild Pokémon, he had been nothing but pleasant. It was as if he wanted to make her difficult transition as painless as possible.  
  
Even though he had only known her for a couple of hours.  
  
"I'm sorry…" she murmured, wiping her tears, "This is just so much…"  
  
"I understand," Karizu said, "It is a lot to happen in such a short time."  
  
"Well…" Roxy said as she raised her head up to face the others, "I guess I don't really have a choice. I'm stuck here, so…I-If you'd have me, I mean…" She took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth, feeling a little calmer. "I…I do feel much safer here with you than when I was out by myself."  
  
"I think most of us agree that we would be happy to have you live with us in our village." Karizu then smiled and held out his paws. "Then it is settled. We welcome you, Roxy."  
  
"Welcome, Roxy," Ozu chimed in.  
  
Roxy looked at them for a moment, considered the circumstances, and then smiled as well. True, she wasn't where she wanted to be and she missed her Master terribly, but with the exception of Taka these were turning out to be very friendly Pokémon. "Heh, um…Thank you…"  
  
"It will be wonderful to have a new companion in our village," Makari said.  
  
"Thanks, Makari," Roxy said to him, "I'm glad you were the first one I met when I woke up, otherwise I would've freaked out a whole lot worse."  
  
"Hmm…Makari?" Karizu spoke, "Perhaps we can count on you to introduce Roxy to our brethren and help her adjust to our village's way of life?"  
  
"I would be happy to, Wise Ones."  
  
Roxy's smile grew upon hearing this. "Are you sure…? I don't want to be a bother or anything."  
  
Makari shook his head. "Nonsense. It would be my pleasure. Feel free to ask me any question that you have, and I will do my best to answer them. If you would feel comfortable doing so, you can also stay in my hut until we can get your lodging arranged."  
  
"Um…Okay. If that's not a problem."  
  
"It is no problem, my young friend."  
  
"Now then…!" Natoka suddenly cut in, startling Roxy because he had been quiet for so long. When she turned to face him, he continued speaking to her in a serious and somewhat commanding tone. "A human pet such as yourself is something we have never encountered before, but nonetheless if you choose to stay here, then you will be treated as any of our other brethren."  
  
Roxy looked up at him uncertainly. "Uhh…Okay?" She frowned a little. Natoka had definitely been the coldest of the three Raichu, hardly smiling and rarely speaking a word. She didn't really detect any malice from him, but his personality was still a little unnerving.  
  
"Above all else," Natoka continued, "there is one common responsibility that applies to everyone living in this village, aside from children and our healer."  
  
She gulped and said, "Um…What's that?"  
  
"All members of the Thunder Clan know how to fight and are trained in the most advanced and formidable battle techniques. I know not your history, but regardless of what it is you will be expected to be able to take up arms should the need arise. Is that clear?"  
  
However, Roxy didn't respond. She was staring up at the large Raichu, eyes wide and jaw hanging open slightly. She couldn't move, because it felt like a Hyper Beam had gone straight through the pit of her stomach.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"But…I don't know how to fight!!"  
  
Roxy's panicked protests were most of what could be heard from the small, simplistic hut. Pikachu and other Pokémon walking outside would easily be able to hear her, but Roxy didn't care. She couldn't care. All she could think about was the daunting task that had unceremoniously been thrust upon her.  
  
"I've never fought anything before…ever!"  
  
"Roxy, calm down," Makari said, holding up his paws, "It is okay."  
  
"He said I have to know how to fight if I wanna stay here!!"  
  
Makari hesitated briefly. "This is true." He glanced away for a moment before continuing. "It is not just this village, Roxy. If a Pokémon in this forest does not know how to fight, then they will not survive. While it is true that there is some form of order, there is always danger to contend with. Everyone must know how to fight, not as a means of offense, but rather as a means of defence."  
  
"So…like self-defence?"  
  
"Partially," Makari replied, "But also so that everyone can pull together when it is time to defend the village from possible attackers."  
  
A shiver ran up her spine. "A…Attackers…?"  
  
"Take a deep breath, Roxy." When she did, he continued. "I feel that you may be getting ahead of yourself. No-one is expecting you to become an expert fighter overnight. And anyway, you have not said that you _can_ not fight, only that you _have_ not in the past."  
  
"I…Y-yeah, I guess so…"  
  
"If you ask me, there is no harm in trying something new."  
  
Roxy heaved a heavy sigh and buried her head in her forepaws. "Ughhh…" she moaned, "I dunno if I can…I'm not a fighter, Makari. I've never been in a Pokémon Battle…My master has never trained me…I wouldn't know the first thing about it!"  
  
"Well, put it out of your mind," Makari said, "The Wise Ones said they will arrange for someone to teach you how to fight, which will not happen until tomorrow. Do not think about it until then."  
  
Roxy raised her head and looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. "Y-you're right…I just…Oh gosh, I dunno…"  
  
Makari smiled as she started to calm down. He had brought her straight to his hut after the Raichu had dropped the news, because she had been so worked up into a panic. Now, she was starting to feel a little more in control.  
  
"I would like to show you the village, and introduce you to some of our brethren," he said, "Before that, however, is there anything you would like to ask me?"  
  
Roxy pondered the question. One thing immediately leapt to the front of her mind. "Yeah. These…huts. You built them?"  
  
Makari nodded. "Our village has been building huts for a few generations now. It is something that sets us apart from the other Clans, as none of them have structures like these."  
  
"Wow…" she murmured, "It's just that…I've never really heard of wild Pokémon building houses before…or at least not Pikachu…"  
  
"The concept was introduced to us by a warrior from long ago who had journeyed to the edge of the forest. As far as we know, he was the first of our Clan to do so. He did not see much, but he saw the humans and how they lived. He returned with the concept of building shelter, and we did what we could to imitate it."  
  
Roxy was now looking at him with renewed interest. "He went to the edge of the forest? To the humans??"  
  
Makari nodded. "He is one of only two known members of the Thunder Clan to reach the forest's edge."  
  
She paused and then nodded. "And the other is Taka…"  
  
"That is correct."  
  
Roxy fidgeted. "Do…Do you think he would talk to me about that? About his journey…to the humans?"  
  
"That is a question that only Taka can answer."  
  
She sighed, thinking about how cold and resentful Taka had been since she had met him. "I suppose…Is this also where your weapons came from?"  
  
Makari shook his head. "We have been using weapons like these for as long as our Clan can remember. They were borne out of necessity. Our village is mostly prey, and so it was natural that we would devise a way to more adequately defend ourselves."  
  
"It's…very impressive," Roxy said with a chuckle.  
  
"My weapon of choice is the spear," Makari said, "though I am also rather proficient in direct combat."  
  
"Yeah, and I saw Taka using his boomerang. I mean…that was incredible."  
  
Makari gave her a blank look. "'Boomerang'?" he spoke, "What is a 'boomerang'?"  
  
"Oh…Yeah, you probably don't call it that. I guess that's a human word."  
  
"If you are referring to Taka's weapon, we call it a 'curved club'."  
  
"Ok, I guess that makes sense… Still, though, I was amazed by what I saw."  
  
It was Makari's turn to chuckle. "There are few of us who can properly wield the curved club. Taka is gifted with an innate skill that none can match. The curved club is a versatile and effective tool, if one can master it."  
  
"It was amazing. It was like a Marowak's Bonemerang!"  
  
"Perhaps you should tell him this," Makari said, "Who knows? Perhaps it may smooth things over between you two."  
  
Roxy sighed. "I hope so. I really don't want him to be mad at me, especially if I'm going to be living here."  
  
"Ah, I do not think he is _mad_ at you. He can just be…stubborn sometimes, and perhaps a little hotheaded." After a pause, Makari said, "Is there anything else? Or shall we introduce you to the village now?"  
  
She thought about it, but couldn't think of any pressing questions. "I'm sure more will come to me before long, heh…"  
  
Makari nodded and stood up, offering his paw. "Well then, come with me."  
  
Though she felt a little apprehensive, she took his paw and allowed him to lead her out of the hut and into the village. Once again, she could feel the eyes of everyone else as they stared at her, but now even more so. She realized that it was probably because she was wearing her collar and flower now. She saw a few groups whisper to one another, while some didn't even bother to whisper at all.  
  
"Who is she…?"  
  
"She is not anyone we know, is she?"  
  
"She is an outsider…"  
  
"What is she wearing?"  
  
"Do not worry. Makari is with her."  
  
Roxy gulped and tried to look as friendly as possible, offering a few passing waves as they went. While she didn't feel threatened by any of the Pikachu and other Pokémon, she did feel rather uncomfortable and out of place. Even though most of them were Pikachu, she didn't look anything like the rest of them. Frankly, she stuck out like a sore thumb.  
  
Makari was offering quick greetings to some of the villagers as he led Roxy towards the centre of the village. There was a fairly small but open clearing there, surrounded on all sides by huts and treehouses.  
  
"Come," Makari said as they slowed to a stop, "Come, everyone. Gather around."  
  
Roxy watched as some of the nearby villagers started to approach and encircle them. Every one she looked at, be they Pikachu or otherwise, they were all dressed similarly to Makari and the others. An endless array of different green paint patterns adorned their bodies, forming zigzags and swirls of all kinds. She noticed that a few of them had scars and injuries. A few were missing chunks of ears or tails, and one or two of them had a deep gouging cut creating a scar right across their eye, which reminded Roxy of Scar from _The Pyroar King_.  
  
"Greetings, fellow brethren," Makari spoke, "I'm sure some of you have been wondering about the 'stranger' in our midst." He didn't speak terribly loudly, and seemed to be refraining from making a big, loud speech. Roxy was quite thankful for this.  
  
"Everyone, this is Roxy. She has become lost in the forest, and found her way to our village," he continued, introducing her, "She has nowhere to go, and so the Wise Ones have decided to allow her to join our Clan."  
  
Many of the villagers murmured her name, all of them using the same 'Rakasi' pronunciation.  
  
"I trust that you will all welcome her into our collective home, and spread word to others that she is not to be feared."  
  
Roxy glanced around nervously, feeling the spotlight fall directly upon her. She meekly waved her paw and said a simple 'Hello'.  
  
She could see a few smiling faces in the crowd, but no-one had come forward to greet her yet. A few of the villagers were speaking quietly to one another, and a select few were giving her very wary glances.  
  
"What is that around her neck?" a voice called, though Roxy wasn't sure from where.  
  
"Do not worry," Makari answered, "It is something she chooses to wear."  
  
He then turned to look at her, and Roxy jumped slightly when she realized it was her turn to speak. "Um…I-it's my collar. I've worn it all my life. M-my master gave it to me…" She paused upon seeing confused and uncertain glances. "My, um…my human."  
  
Though she saw a few bodies visibly tense up, no-one had the same level of violent reaction that had come from Taka. To her relief, it simply looked like most of them were still seeking answers.  
  
"Does she belong to a trainer?"  
  
"No…" Roxy replied, even though the question hadn't been directed at her, "My master is not a trainer."  
  
This simple statement seemed to relax a few tense members of the crowd. After a few more moments of consideration and hushed conversations, someone finally broke the ice. A male Pikachu, about the same size as Makari and decorated in warlike body paint, stepped forward.   
  
He extended his paw towards her, looking down upon her with a rather commanding grin. His expression told her that he didn't have a problem with her, but that could change the moment she decided to _make_ a problem. "I am Bamaka. Welcome to our village."  
  
Roxy hesitated and looked over to Makari for support. He nodded and indicated with his eyes that she should return the gesture. She then turned back towards the other large Pikachu, tried her best to smile in a friendly way, and shook his paw. "H-hi…" she stuttered, but then composed herself, "Hello Bamaka. Thank you for welcoming me. I…" She paused and considered her words carefully. "I am…thankful for the shelter you all provide."  
  
Bamaka, however, simply looked confused. He looked down at her with a furrowed brow for a moment, making her glance around awkwardly, before he turned his gaze to Makari.  
  
"Um…Is there a problem?" Roxy asked meekly.  
  
"Makari," Bamaka spoke, "What is this? She has no spark."  
  
This set the crowd atwitter and they all started muttering to one another. Roxy was just confused. She knew that 'Spark' was the name of a Pokémon Move, but she had a feeling that wasn't what Bamaka was referring to.  
  
She turned to Makari, and saw that he was nodding sagely. "Yes, Bamaka. I noticed it earlier."  
  
"But…how can that be?" Bamaka asked, turning to look at her once more, "All Pikachu carry the spark."  
  
"She does not," Makai stated simply.  
  
Bamaka rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I have never heard of such a thing."  
  
Roxy frowned, her ears laying back as she glanced between the two Pikachu. "Makari? B-Bamaka…? What're you talking about?"  
  
"The spark, Roxy," Makari replied, "I cannot explain it, but you do not have the spark in your fur."  
  
Roxy tilted her head. "…Huh?"  
  
Makari walked over to Bamaka and held out his paw, which Bamaka took hold of. The two looked at each other in understanding, and then back to Roxy. Their expressions seemed to indicate that she was supposed to understand now, which was pretty far from the truth.  
  
When she didn't say anything, Makari continued. "Do you not know of the spark? It is our great defense. The spark can be found in every Pikachu, Pichu and Raichu, and also within the Emolga. Our foes dare not strike us directly, lest the spark render their bodies immobile."  
  
"Immobile…" Roxy murmured, and then recognition came to her. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "You mean ' _Static_ '?"  
  
"Static?" Makari replied.  
  
"Yeah, Static. It's the Pokémon Ability that most Pikachu have. Direct contact with their bodies may render the opponent paralyzed."  
  
Makari nodded. "What you describe is indeed the spark, so perhaps it is known by a different name where you come from."  
  
"But," Bamaka interjected, "that still does not answer why you do not have the spark. I have never heard of a Pikachu without the spark before."  
  
The crowd clamoured in agreement.  
  
Roxy frowned. "Well…" she said, recalling what she had read in the encyclopaedias, "The Pikachu family is known to have one of two possible Abilities. 90% of Pikachu and their related evolutions have Static. However, there are rare specimens who have something called _Lightning Rod_ instead. I'm…Well, I'm one of them. I have Lightning Rod instead of Static."  
  
The look on their faces told her that they hadn't understood every word she had said. "Basically," she tried to clarify, "Very rarely there are Pikachu without…'the spark'."  
  
"I must say, I have never witnessed this of which you speak," Makari replied, "As Bamaka said, none of us have ever encountered a Pikachu, Pichu or Raichu without the spark."  
  
"Well…" she said, glancing at the crowd, "You're all part of a big family. You probably all inherited the spark from your parents because you never encountered a Lightning Rod Pikachu before."  
  
The villagers started murmuring again, and so Makari took the reins. "My friends," he said, "in more ways than one she is different from us. However, she is also the same as us in just as many ways. She is a Pikachu, and with the blessing of the Wise Ones, she shall become a member of our Clan."  
  
Some of the Pokémon around her nodded and smiled, seeming to accept this, while others continued to stare at her like she was a total stranger. Roxy had to remind herself that she was. She had never really been shy about making new friends, but this situation was entirely different.  
  
She decided that, at this time, humility might be the best option. So, she bowed her head and said, "Thank you all so much for your hospitality and protection. I am very grateful."  
  
She then glanced up as she heard Bamaka chuckle. "If Makari and the Wise Ones are okay with you," he said, "then I am too."  
  
Roxy smiled. "Thank you…"  
  
"What say you, my brethren?"  
  
While certainly not a boisterous ovation, most of the crowd did voice their approval or at least their acceptance. Roxy found herself smiling. This forest was still terrifying to her, and there were terrifying Pokémon out there, but she had truly found an oasis amidst the danger.   
  
So many of them were Pikachu just like she was. She knew hardly anything about them, or their culture as a whole, but underneath it all she still felt accepted and welcomed.   
  
If only a little, she started to feel less out of place.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"…and this is Miri, our healer. She was the one who treated your wounds."  
  
Roxy was being led around the village by Makari, and he was showing her all there was to see. They had met with a few villagers that Makari was acquainted with, including a few warriors, a family of Plusle and Minun, and an Emolga with a rather eccentric personality. At present, Makari was leading her through the opening of one of the huts.  
  
Roxy was still finding herself marvelling at the ingenuity of the huts and treehouses. It was still hard for her to believe they had been crafted entirely by the paws of these villagers. The hut only distracted her momentarily, however, until she spotted the hut's occupant.  
  
She stopped and paused, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh…!"  
  
"Miri, I am sure you remember our young friend," Makari spoke, "Her name is Roxy."  
  
The healer stood up from where she was seated, stepping over towards the other two and smiling warmly as she looked down at them. She had the same green body paint, but the patterns on her fur were more calm and flowing. Of particular note was a design that was painted right above where her heart was. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with dried wood and gourds, some of which seemed to be filled with something, and she held a large stick with a few leaves tied to the end. She stood nearly twice as tall as Makari and even taller than Roxy, but this didn't surprise Roxy considering her species.  
  
Miri was an Audino, which definitely took her by surprise. Unquestionably, the healer was the first Pokémon Roxy had seen in the village that was not an Electric type. Of course, Audino were known for being exceptionally skilled at healing and treating wounds, so her position in the Clan made sense. Still, however, it was a trend that Roxy had not expected to be broken.  
  
"Hello, Roxy," Miri said, her voice as sweet as a fresh Pecha Berry, "I am glad to see that you are on your paws and looking much better."  
  
"Um…Hi! Hello…" Roxy said as she stepped forward and shook paws with the Audino.  
  
"If something is wrong," Makari said, "then come to Miri for help."  
  
Miri gave Makari a bashful look and said, "Now Makari…You are making me sound like a miracle worker."  
  
Makari chuckled. "Do not sell yourself short. Having you around is a miracle enough for us."  
  
Miri smiled and shook her head. She then got down on one knee, bringing her head a little closer to Roxy's. "I will do my best to care for you, young one, but my healing waves and bells can only go so far."  
  
"Waves and bells…" Roxy thought about this for a moment, thinking back on what she had read in books, and realized that Miri was referring to _Heal Pulse_ and _Heal Bell_.  
  
The Audino smiled and nodded. "Unfortunately, in your case, I am unable to cure fatigue. It looks like a good night's sleep has done you well."  
  
Roxy looked up and felt a smile on her face. "So, you helped me after I was attacked by the Zangoose? Thank you so much."  
  
"It was a pleasure, young one."   
  
Roxy felt very comfortable around Miri. The Audino just seemed to radiate an air of calmness and serenity, and Roxy got the impression that Miri was a Pokémon who was never cross or upset. She glanced back at Makari for a moment, and then spoke up. "I'm a little surprised to see you, Miri. I thought that everyone here was an Electric Type."  
  
"This is true," Makari replied, "but Miri is an exception. She has been with us for countless years, a cherished part of our extended family."  
  
Miri smiled and nodded. "Thunder does not dance on my fur, but the Thunder Clan is my home. I cannot fight and I have no other place to call home, but that does not matter. Right now, I am where I belong."  
  
"Are you really the _only_ one here who isn't Electric?" Roxy asked.  
  
"Yes," she replied.  
  
"First and only," Makari added, "The division of the elements among Clans is not usually broken."  
  
Miri chuckled. "I consider myself a native of Thunder anyway."  
  
"Well, it was very nice to meet you," Roxy said with a smile, "It makes me a little less anxious to know that you're here."  
  
"I am happy to hear that, child."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Adi."  
  
The Luxray's ears perked as he heard his name, slowly lifting his head from his forepaws and turning to look back.  
  
"Forgive my intrusion," Makari said, "I wished to introduce you to the newcomer, Roxy."  
  
Roxy was standing behind Makari, feeling only half-nervous. Luxray and their related species were indeed predators, but they weren't exactly known for being vicious.   
  
"I saw your…'presentation' of her," Adi replied. Roxy shivered upon hearing his voice. It was extremely deep and powerful, making the words resonate in her mind. Again, she was reminded of _The Pyroar King_.  
  
"Hello…Adi, was it?" Roxy said in a friendly voice, "It's…nice to meet you."  
  
Adi simply gave her a disdainful look, yawned, and then slowly stood up. Roxy kept her eyes on him the whole time, but he seemed almost disinterested in her.   
  
"I trust that you will consider her welcome?" Makari said.  
  
Adi didn't reply. He simply padded over to Roxy and leaned his head down uncomfortably close to hers. Roxy flinched slightly and tried to lean back, but he just leaned further down. Her eyes locked with his, a bold, striking yellow colour, and it was then that she was truly reminded that Luxray were predators.  
  
Traumatizing flashbacks of her encounter with the Zangoose addled her mind. For a moment, she felt herself getting taken back to that nightmare that had happened not so long ago. Subconsciously, her body prepared itself to run.  
  
Adi took in a deep breath through his nose, and then another and another. It took the frightened Pikachu a moment to realize that he was sniffing her. Slowly, her fear morphed into abject confusion.  
  
Once he had finished sniffing her, he took a step back. Roxy saw that his brow was knitted, but otherwise he still looked indifferent. "Very well," was all he said before lying back down on the ground.  
  
Roxy slowly turned and gave Makari a perplexed look. To her mild indignation, Makari seemed amused with what had just happened. Roxy was about to say something to him, when Adi's voice suddenly cut through the air.  
  
"Adikai!"  
  
The two glanced at him, but saw that he was looking past them. They turned around and followed his gaze, seeing that a young Shinx cub was standing not too far off.  
  
"Where is your mother?" Adi asked.  
  
The Shinx seemed preoccupied with looking at Roxy, making her smile awkwardly and wave hello, before he answered the Luxray. "She is getting berries, father," he said.  
  
"Bring her here."  
  
"Yes, father!" the Shinx chirped before happily scampering off.  
  
Once he had gone, Roxy turned to look at the Luxray again. Adi was staring off in the direction his son had gone, and then shifted his gaze towards her. "That is my son," he said, straight and to the point.  
  
"Oh! How nice," Roxy replied, "You said his name was 'Adikai'?"  
  
Adi gave a single, subtle nod of his head.  
  
Roxy chuckled and said, "He's adorable."  
  
To her surprise, this remark caused Adi to scowl slightly at her. He looked as if she had said something that mildly offended him. She was about to ask what she had done, when she was interrupted once again.  
  
This time, it was by Adikai returning with a Luxio in tow. Roxy assumed that this was the Shinx's mother and Adi's mate.  
  
"Mother! Mother, look!" Adikai was saying excitedly, "It is the new one! The one who wears strange things!"  
  
"Yes, Adikai. I see," the Luxio replied calmly before turning to look at Roxy. Her expression had a little more life to it than Adi's, but she still carried on an air of detachment. She had a smile, but Roxy felt like it wasn't meant for her. "I am Kiga," she said.  
  
"Oh, hello. I-"  
  
Roxy's words died on her lips when she was startled by both the Shinx and Luxio stepping right up close to her. Just like Adi before, the two of them started incessantly sniffing her from all angles. She immediately felt squeamish and vulnerable under this strange behaviour, and she squirmed on the spot until they were done.  
  
Then, the two stepped back and started speaking as if nothing had happened. "I shall see you around the village, young one," Kiga said.  
  
"Mother! Can I play with her?" Adikai asked excitedly, "I want to know what the thing on her neck is!"  
  
"No, Adikai," Adi cut in, "Stay here."  
  
"Perhaps later," Kiga added, to which the Shinx smiled excitedly.  
  
Roxy, still not sure what was going on, simply looked at all of them in confusion and then glanced to Makari, whom she silently asked for help.  
  
"You have our gratitude, Adi, Kiga, Adikai," Makari replied, bowing his head just slightly before continuing, "I look forward to patrol with you tomorrow."  
  
Adi only nodded.  
  
"Come, Roxy," Makari said as he started to usher her away.  
  
"Oh, um…Okay. It was nice meeting you all!" she called over her shoulder as Makari took her paw.  
  
Only Adikai waved.  
  
Once the two had made it a fair distance away from the family, Roxy spoke up. "What was _that_ about…?"  
  
"They were remembering your scent," Makari replied.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yes, so that they know who you are. They are predators, after all."  
  
It took a moment for Makari's words to sink in, but Roxy then felt a tremble straight up her spine. Silently, she wondered if she should go back and let them sniff her once more just to be sure.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy yawned, stretched her arms, and glanced out the door of the hut towards the sky above. The starry night sky could hardly be seen beyond the thick covering of branches, but she could clearly see the moon in the distance.  
  
It had been a long day of being shown around the village and being introduced to everyone. Reception had definitely been mixed, but still the only one who seemed to outright despise her was Taka. Thankfully, they hadn't seen head nor tail of him since the Wise Ones had sent him away earlier.  
  
Now night had fallen, and Makari had taken her back to his hut. He was busy collecting grass and moss to make a second bed for her, while she found herself enraptured as she stared at the stars.  
  
She hadn't noticed evening's approach, because she had been spending so much time doing things with Makari. When night itself had arrived, it had spooked her a little. Light was disappearing from the sky, and everywhere around. The tree cover had already made it somewhat dim during the day, but at night it was an entirely different story.  
  
Roxy had never experienced darkness like the cover of night in the wilderness. It shook her to her very core.  
  
She had slept through her first night in the forest after passing out, so this was an entirely new and frightening experience for her. It was almost pitch black outside. She couldn't even see her own paw in front of her face, and the sounds of the forest sounded so much more eerie. While she had been outside, she could not shake the feeling that someone was constantly sneaking up behind her.  
  
Inside of Makari's hut, however, was at least somewhat lit. She had been quite surprised when he had used a few small sparks from his cheeks to light the end of a short stick on fire, creating a small torch. It was small enough that there was little danger of accidentally starting a huge fire, but enough to provide ample lighting inside of the small hut. He even had a specially carved rock that the torch fit into, allowing it to sit in the middle of the room on its own.  
  
Roxy was thankful, of course, but it was still really dark out. Even the inside of the hut seemed shadowy and creepy. She found herself drawn to the only light-giving thing that remained at this hour, which is why she was gazing up at the moon.  
  
"Are you okay?" Makari asked, making her jump slightly.  
  
"Oh…" she said with a short sigh, "Yes, I'm…I'm just a little nervous."  
  
Makari nodded sagely and said, "Few venture out at night because we Pikachu cannot see well in the dark. Do not worry, though. You are safe here."  
  
Roxy nodded but didn't reply, gazing out into the dark forest once more.  
  
"Did you enjoy our village?" he asked, "I am very glad that we were able to welcome you in. I am sure that you will do well living amongst us. Please do not get the wrong idea, Roxy. We are a family here. When one of us struggles, we all pitch in and help. If there is something you need, please do not hesitate to find me, one of our brethren that we spoke to today, or even one of the Wise Ones."  
  
Still, Roxy didn't say anything.  
  
She heard him stepping over towards her, and a moment later he was seated at her side. She gave him an idle glance before continuing to look up at the moon.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
She mumbled something unintelligible in response.  
  
"You are troubled, Roxy. It is easy to see."  
  
Finally, she slowly turned and looked into Makari's eyes. There was a frown on her face that she just couldn't shake.  
  
"Did everything go well for you today? There were many who were more than happy to welcome you, and the others will come around soon enough."  
  
Roxy glanced downwards. "N-no…I mean, yes. It was nice. I like your village and a lot of the Pokémon here. You especially have been so super nice to me…"  
  
Makari reached forward with his paw and tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him again. "Are you worried about learning to fight?"  
  
She stiffened slightly. "A little…" she admitted, "I'm just trying to stay calm until it actually happens, y'know? I mean, no-one's expecting me to be perfect, right? I just have to know…y'know, the basics, right?"  
  
Makari nodded, and she let out a tiny sigh of relief.  
  
"It's scary out here…"  
  
"Considering your background," Makari said, "I can understand that. This world is alien to you. Then again, yours is alien to us."  
  
Roxy half-smiled and chuckled quietly. "I don't belong here, but I don't really have a choice…"  
  
"I am sure you will do fine in training. All Pokémon know how to fight at least a little bit. It is in our blood."  
  
Roxy glanced away again, remaining silent.  
  
"Please, Roxy," he said softly, "Tell me."  
  
She tried to compose herself and give a response, but found she couldn't do so without letting out a couple sobs.  
  
"I miss master…"  
  
It took a moment before Makari responded. "Oh…"  
  
Tears rolled down her cheeks and stained her fur. "I've spent my whole life with her. She's there when I wake up in the morning, and when I go to sleep. If something was wrong, she was always there to make it better…."  
  
Roxy reached up and touched the collar around her neck. "I'm such a pathetic, spoiled brat…" she lamented, "Without her, I'm nothing. Who'm I kidding? I can't survive out here…"   
  
"Roxy…"  
  
"I need her…" Roxy started crying, trembling like a leaf. "I need my master…"  
  
Makari laid his forelimb across her shoulders, pulling her into a gentle half-hug. "Roxy, I have never seen a human before…but I _can_ understand the pain of loss. The sting in your heart when your loved ones are taken away from you."  
  
Roxy sniffled and turned to look at him. "Y…You do…?"  
  
"Of course. That is something that anyone can understand. Roxy, I am sorry that your life was taken away from you so suddenly. I know that you do not want to be here, and that this is not the life you wish to live…"  
  
He squeezed her a little tighter and continued. "But Roxy, I do not want you to feel like an outsider. Fate has brought you here, and here is where you must stay for the present. I want to make the best of this situation and make you happy while you are here."  
  
Roxy chuckled. "You're all so nice…Well, most of you anyway. I'm sure it'll be fine…but I still miss my master. Even though you're all here, I feel so…alone."  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"And I'm _scared_ …!"  
  
She turned to glance at Makari, who looked as if he wanted to reply but couldn't find the words.  
  
"I'm _so_ scared, Makari….I'm terrified!"


	5. Show Me Your Best

It was a little bit cold. Roxy rolled over in discomfort in her bed.  
  
Why didn't master turn the heat up?  
  
Roxy got the strange sensation that she was sleeping in. Master didn't like it when she slept in, so she tried to make herself wake up. However, it wasn't all that bright. Was it raining today?  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
The Pikachu smiled. Master was here. Her master was waking her up with her calming, gentle voice. Her tail started to wag of its own accord.  
  
"M-master…" she mumbled.  
  
"…No, Roxy."  
  
Anxiety suddenly overcame her. No? Why was master saying 'no'? Master only said 'no' when she did something wrong. Roxy squirmed in agitation. Her master wouldn't be mad at her, right? Why would she??  
  
"Nnnh…I'm sorry master…I'm sorry…"  
  
However, it was no use. Roxy could see her master turning away from her, walking away and fading into the distance.  
  
"Master! Master, no! Come back!"  
  
She started to cry, holding out her paw desperately. She could no longer see the young girl. Her master was gone.  
  
"No! Master, please! I can't go on without you!!"  
  
When Roxy felt something actually grab on to her outstretched paw, she yelped in fright and her eyes shot wide open. The world suddenly rearranged and disoriented itself, and she found herself laying on her back. Blurry shapes and colours slowly came together, and they formed the image of a terrifying, angry warrior face!  
  
Roxy screamed in terror and quickly scrambled to get away. Someone was saying something but she didn't hear. She fumbled across the ground, the world spinning around her, until she felt her back pressed up against the rough wall. Her eyes quickly shot around, looking for an escape, and she saw that the only door was behind the evil creature.  
  
"Roxy! Calm down, please! It is me!"  
  
The creature was talking to her. Its voice was familiar. Her chest was heaving with every panicked breath, but she blinked her eyes to clear away the last of her fatigue. It took a moment, but she was finally able to clearly see what was in front of her.  
  
Recognition suddenly flooded her mind. The evil, angry face was nothing more than a perfectly normal Pikachu face with striking body paint. What's more, it was looking quite concerned for her wellbeing. Her fright-addled mind slowly calmed down, and she began to remember where she was and who she was talking to.  
  
"Makari…" she gasped, still not having caught her breath.  
  
"Roxy, are you all right?"  
  
"I…" She held a paw up to her chest, and could feel her heart pounding inside. "I'm…I'm okay…" After a few more deep breaths, she added, "I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me…" She closed her eyes and turned her head away, embarrassed.  
  
"It seemed like you were having a nightmare," she heard him say. Once again, she was reminded of just how calming and soothing his voice could be. "I apologize, Roxy. I was trying to rouse you too quickly."  
  
"No…No, _I'm_ sorry," she insisted, "I thought you were a monster…"  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
"I…I didn't mean…" she mumbled.  
  
"Roxy," Makari spoke, and the young Pikachu jumped slightly when she felt his paw on her shoulder, "There is nothing to apologize for. You were half asleep and you did not recognize me. Also, you must consider that this is your first night waking up in a strange location. Your mind was bound to trip a little bit."  
  
Roxy opened her eyes and turned to look into Makari's. She could see the care and concern in them as clear as the rising sun's rays streaming in from the doorway. Before long, she was smiling once again.  
  
"Thanks…" she said quietly, "Y-you're right…For a moment, I…" Her smile then disappeared. "I forgot where I was…"  
  
"Well," Makari said as he briefly rubbed her shoulders, "Try not to think about where you are not, and live in the present for the time being. Here, I found these for you!"  
  
Roxy glanced over as Makari stepped away, and then returned carrying an armful of small red and yellow fruits. "Leppa Berries!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I thought we might enjoy these for breakfast."  
  
A smile quickly appeared on her face. "Where did you find Leppa Berries? I _love_ those! They're my favourite!!"  
  
Makari chuckled. "There are _many_ different berries growing in the forest. I prefer some variety when it comes to food, so I try to find something different every day."  
  
Roxy reached out and took a berry from the pile, giving a quick thank-you smile to Makari before daintily biting into it. Its crisp, sweet flavour filled her with delight. "Mmm…!" She couldn't help but close her eyes and smile. This was _fresh_ off the berry bush. Even the fresh berries her family grew in their garden couldn't compare to this.  
  
Makari was munching on one of the berries himself, while holding two more in the crook of his other arm.  
  
"These are so good!" Roxy said after she had swallowed, "These are the best Leppa Berries ever!!"  
  
He smiled and said, "I am glad that you like them."  
  
"Oh my gosh, it's so fresh and juicy!" She grinned and took another bite. "Mmm-mmm!!"  
  
After she took a few more bites and finished off the rest of the fruit, she looked up at Makari. Silently, she was lamenting the fact that she didn't have any napkins and probably had Leppa juice on her face. However, Makari didn't seem to notice and was simply giving her a bemused look. She noticed that he was only holding one more berry.  
  
"Um…" She blushed when she realized that he had eaten two berries in the time it had taken her to eat one.  
  
"You eat with such…grace," he commented, chuckling a little.  
  
"I, uh…Sorry, it's just how I was…raised…"  
  
She glanced around awkwardly for a moment before Makari broke whatever tension was in the air by handing her the last Leppa. She took it and smiled sheepishly. "Um…Thanks again."  
  
"There is no need to thank me, Roxy. Breakfast is vital to health and survival."  
  
Roxy smiled and nodded as she ate the other berry, obsessing just a little less on her table manners.  
  
When she only had a few bites left, the hanging vines in the doorway were suddenly and unceremoniously shoved aside which startled them both. A Pikachu's head popped in, a scowl on his face.  
  
Roxy froze for a moment when she saw who it was. Taka eyed her for a moment, his expression unchanged, before he turned to look at Makari.  
  
"…Come in, I suppose," he said dryly.  
  
"Come outside," Taka commanded, "I must speak with you." Without even waiting for a response, Taka's head disappeared.  
  
Roxy blinked, and then turned to look at Makari. "Umm…?"  
  
Makari smiled apologetically before he turned and stepped outside of the hut.  
  
Now left alone, Roxy simply sat down against the back wall and finished her Leppa. The two other Pikachu had stepped away from the hut so that she couldn't hear them, but after a short while she started to hear the distant, muffled shouts of one of them. Roxy had a pretty good idea which one of them it was.  
  
After swallowing the last bite, Roxy became unsure of what to do with herself. She fiddled with her forepaws idly, glancing around at the empty walls and wondering what Taka and Makari were talking about. This was the first she'd seen of Taka since her initial meeting with the Wise Ones, where he had been sent away.   
  
Finally, Makari stuck his head back inside. "Roxy?" he said, "Can you come with me please?"  
  
"Sure," she said with a nod, and then stood up and walked through the door. She held up a paw briefly to shield her eyes from the light of the morning sun, filtering down through the leaves in what seemed like a deliberate attempt to hit her square in the eyes. The warm light of sunrise was still visible, but the whole village was already awake. Roxy didn't exactly sleep in super late, but she couldn't remember the last time she had woken up _this_ early.  
  
Makari led her over to where Taka was standing, his forelegs crossed and one of his hind paws stomping impatiently. Roxy hesitated just a little. To be honest, Taka still frightened her. The fact was that he was a warrior, and he was someone who didn't like her. That combination didn't sit well with her.  
  
"Hi, Taka…" she spoke softly, trying to be friendly.  
  
"Good morning to you," he replied. There wasn't an ounce of friendliness in his voice, but that had still been a courteous greeting. She tried to convince herself that this was a small step forward, but the ever-present scowl on his face told her otherwise.  
  
"Lighten up, Taka," Makari quipped.  
  
The warrior looked over to the other, his scowl turning into a glare.  
  
Unflinching, Makari turned to address Roxy. "Today, it is time for you to start training."  
  
Roxy's ears fell flat against her head, a disheartened frown on her face. "Oh…" she muttered.  
  
"At the very least, you must learn how to properly defend yourself," he said, "Trust me; it is for your own benefit."  
  
"I…Yeah, I guess…"  
  
"Do not worry," he continued, "Someone will be there to guide you along and help you hone your skills."  
  
Her ears perked back up. "Really?" she replied, "Is it you?"  
  
Makari smiled. "I would be more than willing to help you with whatever you need along the way. However for your _training_ , the Wise Ones feel it would be beneficial if you were taught by one of our greatest warriors."  
  
"Oh." Roxy blinked, digesting this information. She glanced over at Taka, standing nearby with a sour expression on his face. "…Oh." The realization dawned upon her, bringing her ears back down once again. "Ohh…"  
  
"Roxy," Makari said, "Taka is the greatest warrior in our entire clan, and he is adept in multiple disciplines of battle. If the task is to train your skills, then there is no-one better suited for the undertaking."  
  
Taka scoffed. "Save your flattery, Makari," he spat, "There are many others who excel more than I do when it comes to _teaching_. This is merely a punishment for my apparent misbehaviour earlier."  
  
Makari gave him a flat look. "You do not know that."  
  
"Do not be ridiculous. It is the only explanation that makes any sense. Why else would they burden me with the task of trying to teach… _her_?" He sneered the last word, narrowing his eyes at her.  
  
Roxy gulped, unsure if she was more afraid or offended. She was conflicted enough that she didn't say anything.  
  
"Taka…" Makari said, a note of warning in his voice.  
  
"Whatever. Is she ready?"  
  
Roxy stiffened. "Wha?! Y-you mean…right now, we…?"  
  
"I will bring her to the training area shortly, Taka," Makari spoke up, "We will not be long."  
  
Taka glared at them both for a moment before turning to Roxy and saying, "Fine. Do _not_ waste my time." With that, he promptly turned around and began to walk off.  
  
A brief, awkward silence followed between the other two Pikachu. "Umm…" Roxy finally spoke up, "Is he really going to be my teacher?"  
  
"I am sorry, Roxy," Makari replied, "but the Wise Ones feel it is best this way."  
  
Roxy frowned. "But…But he's so…"  
  
"I know he can be a little brash, but he really is a nice Pokémon once you get to know him."  
  
Roxy's look of skepticism must have been noticed because Makari chuckled and added, "Trust me."  
  
"I dunno…" Roxy murmured, kicking at the ground with her hind paw.  
  
"Taka just needs to spend a little time around you," Makari said, "He mistrusts you because you come from the human world, but once he sees that no humans are following you his brazenness will subside. Besides, if you honestly try your best to learn what he is teaching you, that can only help."  
  
Roxy still wasn't convinced. "I was really worried about having to fight, even if someone like _you_ was teaching, but with _him_? Makari, he _hates_ me!"  
  
Makari shook his head. "Roxy, he does not hate you."  
  
"How can you be sure?"  
  
"Well, if he _hated_ you, then it would not be safe for you to be here."  
  
Roxy's heart skipped a beat. "Wh-what?"  
  
Makari smiled apologetically. "I just mean that Taka only hates his enemies, and Taka keeps enemies out of the village. He distrusts you, he is unnerved by your differences, and he views you as an outsider…but he does not hate you."  
  
"I…I guess…?" She was shivering a little.  
  
"I am sorry, I did not mean to frighten you. Taka is a great warrior, but trust me you have nothing to fear from him. He has a strong sense of honour."  
  
Roxy glanced around, feeling anxiety creep up on her. Things had been getting a little bit better over the course of yesterday, but now she felt like she was about to be thrown back into the fire. Roxy absolutely did not want to learn how to fight, and she definitely didn't want to be trained by Taka of all Pokémon. Makari's words of reassurance, unfortunately, did nothing to quell the fear she had of him.   
  
She started to feel uncomfortable again, feeling pressured into something she didn't want to do. A few little whimpers of distress slipped out. She looked up when she felt Makari's arm across her shoulder.  
  
"I will stay with you while he teaches you today. Would that make you feel better?"  
  
Roxy stared at him for a moment, and then a smile wove its way onto her face. "Y-yeah…It would."  
  
Makari beamed. "I would be happy to help. Taka may not appreciate me trying to encroach on his teachings, but let us not worry about that."  
  
"Heh…Okay."  
  
He then started to lead her through the village, moving at a slow and comfortable pace.  
  
"Um…Has Taka always been like this?"  
  
Makari glanced at her. "To a degree, yes. He is stubborn and headstrong."  
  
"How do you put up with him?"  
  
He chuckled and shrugged. "A lifetime of experience, I suppose? No matter what he does, he will always be my little brother."  
  
Roxy nodded for a few seconds before she suddenly stopped in place and stared at him in confusion. "Wait! Taka is your _brother_??"  
  
"Yes. Yes he is." Makari tilted his head. "I am sorry, have I not mentioned that before?" When Roxy shook her head, he chuckled in bemusement. "Ah, you must forgive me, Roxy. We are all such a close-knit family here. Everyone already knows that Taka and I are brothers. It has been an eternity since I have needed to explain that."  
  
"Huh…" Roxy murmured, considering this new information as she resumed walking ahead and following Makari.  
  
It didn't take them long to reach the training area, which was empty except for Taka standing just outside and waiting. He looked very impatient as he waited for them to approach.  
  
"All right, Roxy," Makari said, leading her forward with his paw and urging her to approach Taka, "Just do your best and listen to what Taka says."  
  
Roxy gulped, glancing around nervously and then looking up at Taka. Makari was taller than Taka was, but Roxy still felt very small in comparison to the warrior Pikachu. "Um…Hi again…"  
  
Taka just stared down at her.  
  
"Umm…Should we, uh…start?"  
  
Uncomfortable seconds of silence passed. Roxy found herself unable to break eye contact with the other Pikachu, and his gaze sent shivers down her spine.  
  
"Makari!" Taka suddenly snapped, nearly making Roxy cry out in fright, "Why are you still here?"  
  
"I am observing," he replied simply.  
  
Taka grunted quietly and then returned to looking down at Roxy. He then took a step to the side, allowing her to see the training area behind him, and gestured outwards with his paw. "Show me what you are capable of."  
  
Roxy blinked, glancing at him and the many targets and objects. "Wh-what?"  
  
"I said, _show me what you are capable of_."  
  
She gulped and decided it would be best to at least try to do what he asked. Nervously, she walked on all fours past Taka until she was in the middle of the training area, and then turned around to look at him. Makari sat on a log off to the side, watching her with interested eyes. She was now the centre of attention, and she didn't like it one bit.  
  
"…Well?" Taka snapped after she had stood there for about a minute.  
  
"Um…What do you want me to do…?"  
  
Taka groaned and rolled his eyes. "If I _must_ teach you how to improve your fighting skills, then I need to know what skills you already have, however minimal they may be. So _show me what you can do!_ "  
  
Roxy frowned. "But…But I've never-"  
  
"Never been in a Pokémon Battle. I _know_ ," Taka interrupted impatiently, "Show me what skills you _do_ have!"  
  
She was really starting to sweat under the spotlight now. "…Battle skills?"  
  
Taka turned to look back at Makari, as if to ask 'Is she serious?', then turned back to her and snapped, " _Yes!_ "  
  
"B-but…Taka, I…That's just the thing. It's not that I haven't been in any _Pokémon_ Battles, I haven't been in any battles at all! I've never had a fight in my life! I don't know _how_!"  
  
Roxy could swear she saw one of Taka's eyes twitching, and then the Pikachu promptly buried his head in his hands. "Oh dear heavens…" he murmured, "This must be a joke." Even Makari looked a tad surprised by this revelation.  
  
"I…I'm sorry, but I dunno if I _can_ fight," she said, a hint of pleading in her voice, "That's not how I was raised…"  
  
" _Great!_ " Taka suddenly exclaimed, throwing his forepaws up into the air in exasperation, "So the Wise Ones have saddled me with an impossible task. They expect me to prepare someone like _her_ for life in the forest…so that she may serve and defend our village? This _pet_ could not take down a Metapod!"  
  
"Taka!" Makari shouted hotly.  
  
Roxy was about to defend herself, but she realized that Taka was probably correct.  
  
"Listen, doe!" Taka shouted at her, "Do you honestly expect to be able to survive out here? This is not a place for pets to take happy little vacations!"  
  
She quivered a little, a frown quickly forming on her face. "I…N-no, I…It's n-not my fault I'm here…B-but I really don't know h-"  
  
"No," Taka interjected, holding up one of his paws, "No, no…This is ridiculous. Any Pokémon can fight. It is a part of who we are, even if we do not know it." He gave her one more scrutinizing look before pointing behind her. "Hit that target. I do not care what you do. Punch it, kick it, hit it with your tail. Just show me _something_."  
  
Roxy glanced behind herself, seeing the wooden target he was pointing at. She gulped and said, "Uhh…Okay…" She nervously waddled over, stepping closer until she was only a few paces away from the wood circle. She looked down at it, trying to decide what to do. The most 'combative' thing Roxy had ever done was breaking out of her egg. She cast a nervous glance back to Taka and Makari, before she faced the target once more and took a deep breath. She then clenched one of her paws into a fist, pulled back her arm, and punched the centre of the target as hard as she could.  
  
"Ngggghhhh…!!!"  
  
Indescribable pain rippled through her paw and right up her foreleg. It felt like she had broken at least 15 bones and reduced a few of them to dust. Tears welled in her eyes, and a gut-wrenching scream was barely being held down within her throat. Roxy had fallen and broken one of her legs once, and that almost didn't even register on the scale compared to this.  
  
Her foreleg dropped limply to her side, she sucked in a breath, and then let out the longest, most agonizing groan of pain she had ever heard in her life.  
  
Roxy fell back onto her rump and then rolled back so she was laying face up, resting her shattered foreleg against the dirt below. She whispered "Ow!" to herself over and over again while she clenched her eyes shut and waited for the pain to subside.  
  
After a moment of pain and agony, she heard pawsteps approaching her. She wrenched open her eyes and saw an upside-down Taka staring down at her in disapproval.  
  
"Without question," he said dryly, "that was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen."  
  
Roxy frowned and whined.  
  
"Your weak little pampered paws are going to do you no good out here," he said before turning around and walking away.   
  
She sat herself back up, yelping slightly when she accidentally leaned on her injured arm.  
  
"This is pointless," Taka was saying dismissively, "There is no way she could learn how to fight. She cannot stay here. Pets do not fight."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up and she quickly stood up on her hind paws. "N-no!" she exclaimed, holding out one forepaw, "No! I can't go back out there! I…"  
  
"Taka…" Makari said, stepping forward to stop Taka from simply walking off, "Give her a chance."  
  
The younger brother scoffed dismissively. "Pichu cubs could punch harder than that, and they wouldn't hurt their paws."  
  
Makari shook his head. "What was it that you were telling me two days ago?"  
  
Taka tilted his head slightly, but then replied, "I am bored. When it is not my turn to patrol, it is boring here."  
  
"Yes," Makari said, nodding, "And what better way to stave off boredom than to challenge yourself with something?"  
  
Roxy saw Taka raise an eyebrow. "What are you getting at…?"  
  
Makari gestured towards her. "Do you not agree that training her to be a competent fighter will be a challenge?" He then turned towards her and added, "I mean no disrespect, Roxy."  
  
She shook her head. "No, no…Heh…It's true."  
  
Taka narrowed his eyes. "I believe that I would rather be bored than wasting my time trying to teach a _pet_."  
  
"Really, Taka?" Makari replied, taking his turn to raise an eyebrow, "Is that really the way that you feel? In all my years of knowing you, giving up has never been something I would have attributed to you."  
  
Roxy frowned as she saw the heat rise to Taka's face. "Giving up?! I am not giving up, I am refusing to start!"  
  
"Is there truly a difference?"  
  
Taka crossed his arms. "Do not try to use mental trickery on me, _brother_. Why do you cater to her so much? You hardly know her!"  
  
This caused a change in Makari's expression. He now looked more serious than before. "Because, Taka…She is a Pikachu, she is a _Pokémon_ , and she is _in trouble_. The alternative to trying to help her is to cast her out into certain death."  
  
Taka looked ready to fire back another argument, but the words seemed to die on his lips. He glared at Makari for a few moments in silence.  
  
Makari's smirk returned. "Come on, Taka," he said, just a hint of goading in his tone, "Consider it a challenge. I am not claiming it will be easy, but I _know_ you are not one to back down from a challenge."  
  
Still, Taka continued to glare at the older Pikachu. Roxy wasn't sure if he was considering his choice, or trying to win a staring contest. A minute of uncomfortable silence passed, with Roxy idly fidgeting and waiting for something to happen.  
  
Finally, Taka sighed in exasperation and turned to look at her once more. " _Fine_ ," he said, though there was a definite lack of enthusiasm in his voice.  
  
Roxy was about to thank him for giving her another chance, but then realized she wasn't quite sure if she _was_ thankful.   
  
Taka stepped up towards her and stood a few metres away. "Try this instead," he said, "Hit me with your strongest thunder strike."  
  
"Wh-what…?" Roxy stammered, not sure she had heard him correctly.  
  
"You _are_ able to wield thunder, are you not?"  
  
"Well yeah, but…"  
  
"Then show me!" Taka exclaimed, holding up both of his forepaws.  
  
"You want me to…hit _you_?"  
  
"Just do it."  
  
Roxy hesitated, casting an unsure glance over to Makari. He gave her a nod of encouragement. "Um…Okay. If you're sure."  
  
Taka simply stood there waiting, so Roxy took a deep breath and got started. She got down on all fours with her back arched, her rear lifted, and her tail pointed to the sky. She tensed up her body and built up as much electricity in her cheek pouches as she could. Finally, when she felt the sparks dancing from her cheeks, she arched her body forward and propelled the electricity through the air. It shot forward quickly, striking Taka in the chest and quickly covering his whole body.  
  
She stood there panting for a moment before she stood back up. She was worried that she had hurt Taka, and looked to see if he was okay.  
  
Taka was just fine. In fact, he didn't show a single sign of injury at all. He looked like he hadn't even felt the shock.  
  
"That was a joke, right?"  
  
Roxy frowned. "No…That was my…my Thunder Jolt."  
  
"Your _what_? Is that really the best you can do with your thunder? That could hardly be called an attack. I was casting more powerful thunder when I was a Pichu!"  
  
Her ears fell back. Again with the comparison to a Pichu.  
  
"I…I am truly speechless. I do not know where to begin."  
  
"I told you…" Roxy said with a frown, "I can't fight. I never have fought. My master doesn't like fighting…"  
  
"Well, your _master_ has probably never had to survive in the wilderness, has she?" Taka snapped, "Wake up! You are not in the safe, lazy home of your overprotective, indulging, spoiling human anymore! It is not a question of whether or not you _want_ to fight. If you cannot fight, you will die. There is no other way."  
  
Roxy simply stood there for a moment in stunned silence, listening to his harsh words. The way he talked about her master made her feel angry, but mostly it just made her feel hopeless and homesick. "I…" She tried to formulate a response but couldn't.  
  
"Like it or not, if you want to stay here then you must change."  
  
Her eyes started to get a little moist. "B-but…" She sniffled. "I don't wanna change…"  
  
"I am afraid you must," Makari said, stepping over, "But do not be so hard on yourself. If you try your best, then I am sure you will be able to make the necessary changes. This is just difficult for you because it is new. Do not get discouraged so soon." He then turned and gave Taka a look. "That goes for you as well, brother. Do not give up on her so soon. It will take time."  
  
Taka just scoffed and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Would you like my help, Taka?" Makari asked.  
  
"I do not _need_ your help," Taka replied in a huff, promptly walking away from the two.  
  
Makari gave Roxy an encouraging pat on the back. "Just do your best, Roxy."  
  
Roxy turned and gave him a sad look, trying to silently communicate her plea that he would take her away from this activity. When he turned and walked back to where he had been watching earlier, Roxy's ears dropped and she sighed in defeat. She slowly walked over towards Taka.  
  
"Perhaps start with something where she will not hurt herself?" Makari called to his brother.  
  
Taka just grunted in response. When Roxy walked up behind him, he only turned and gave her a quick glance before turning away.   
  
"Ummm…" Roxy muttered, trying to think of something to say, "I-"  
  
"All right, fine," Taka grumbled, cutting her off. He still seemed irritated, but perhaps a little less frustrated. "Try this instead." He turned around fully this time, holding in his paws a short stick with a somewhat-pointed stone at the end.  
  
Roxy took it and gazed at it, mildly confused.  
  
"The short spear is often used for training young cubs. Try it."  
  
She glanced up at him nervously, then over at the row of targets. "Uhh…"  
  
"Hit it and then stab it."  
  
Roxy gulped and nodded, quickly getting to work before Taka lost his patience again. She tested the spear in her paws a few times. It honestly wasn't very heavy and she found she could hold it quite easily. Perhaps this wouldn't go as badly.  
  
She walked over to one of the targets and gripped the short spear by its shaft. As with everything else they had done today, Roxy had never _swung_ a weapon before, but she tried to spread her hind legs on the ground in what she thought was the best ready position. She _had_ watched a bunch of human swordsmen acting in movies, and tried to remember what they did.  
  
Roxy looked at the target for a couple of moments and she shifted the spear around, trying to get a better feel for it. When her ears picked up a quiet growl from behind her, she realized that she was going too slowly for Taka. So she grit her teeth, closed her eyes, and swung the spear forward in a horizontal arc.  
  
Her ears snapped to her head in response to the loud _thunk_ the impact made, and she ended up dropping the spear because hitting the target had only given her more pain in her forelegs. She seethed a little in pain, and then awkwardly turned back around to look at her teacher.  
  
Taka's jaw was set in a line and his forelegs were crossed, but he didn't look angry. "Well…" he commented, "At least you actually hit it."  
  
Roxy blinked, stared at him for a moment, then gave him an unsure smile. "Th-thanks…?"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Is this Miri's hut?"  
  
The Pikachu villager turned to look at her. His eyes widened in surprise only briefly, but then he replied, "Yes it is."  
  
Roxy smiled in gratitude. "Thanks…"   
  
To her delight, the other Pikachu smiled as well before walking off.  
  
Roxy simply clenched her eyes shut and groaned. She slowly turned around and limped towards the hut. She didn't even bother using her paws to part the vines hanging in front of the door and just awkwardly walked through them.  
  
"Miri…?" she said, her voice weak and coarse.  
  
The Audino's ears perked up and she turned around to greet her visitor. "Hello?" she said before her eyes widened slightly and she got to her feet.   
  
Roxy simply stepped into the middle of the hut and plopped down on her rear, utterly exhausted.  
  
"Dear heavens, are you okay?" Miri asked, approaching the Pikachu and leaning down next to her.  
  
"Not really…" Roxy said as she shook her head, "I can't really feel my forelegs…my hind legs ache…and I got hit on my side right here." She hissed upon touching the tender area. "Ow…"  
  
Miri gently examined Roxy's sore spots with her paws, then nodded silently and held both paws up. They started to glow with a soft, peach-coloured energy, which Miri fed into Roxy's body. Roxy closed her eyes and allowed the Heal Pulse to do its work.  
  
"Thank you…" she murmured.  
  
"Do you feel better?"  
  
Roxy nodded her head softly. "Training with Taka was harder than I expected it to be, and I had already expected it to be really hard…"  
  
"Oh…" Miri said softly, "So you have started?"  
  
As the Heal Pulse ended, Roxy didn't bother to get up. She was far too exhausted. "They said I had to learn to fight, so…I'm learning to fight…Taka beat me up for a couple of hours, then told me to come here, and here I am…"  
  
"I see, young one." Miri sighed. "Yes, it is sad but true that fighting is a way of life out here. The irony in this is that I left my tribe and came here because the Thunder Clan is more _peaceful_."  
  
Roxy glanced up at the Audino. "And they still have everyone fight…?"  
  
"Except cubs and myself," Miri said with a nod.  
  
She glanced down. "Can you teach me to be a healer then?"  
  
Miri chuckled sympathetically and placed a paw on Roxy's shoulder. "I am afraid not, child."  
  
Roxy heaved a heavy sigh. "Thanks for making me feel better, though. He made me punch and kick so many things, and then he decided that with my 'skill level' it would be prudent to teach me self-defence. Basically, that meant hitting me over and over again."  
  
"Well…Did you learn anything, at least?"  
  
Roxy turned again and gave Miri a flat look.  
  
"Oh…" Miri glanced around awkwardly for a moment before going back to smiling. "Well, your training for today is over, right?"  
  
"Thank heavens…" Roxy murmured.  
  
"That is fair, is it not? And now you have the rest of the day to spend however you want, as I am sure the warriors will not send you out on patrol until you have learned enough skills.  
  
' _Patrol_ '. Makari had left halfway through her lessons because he'd needed to go out on patrol. She made a mental note to ask him later what that meant.  
  
"Come!"  
  
Roxy blinked, realizing that Miri was now standing by the door and gesturing for her to stand up. "Wha…?"  
  
"Evening is not yet on the horizon. Would you like to join me for a walk around the village?"  
  
Roxy considered this for a moment, and then smiled. "Um, okay. I'd love to." She then stood up and walked towards the door, where Miri allowed her to exit first.  
  
If Roxy had to guess, it was about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. The angled rays of the sun were filtering down through the heavy tree cover in a rather beautiful way. There were clouds in the sky, but hardly enough to cast the land in darkness. It was a little chilly outside, but honestly not bad for the time of the year.  
  
She decided to let Miri lead the way and follow after. When they stepped away from Miri's hut and moved towards the centre of the village, Roxy again became aware of all the other native villagers that were around her. Many of them she hadn't even had a chance to talk to yet. Despite herself, Roxy couldn't help but still feel a little anxious.  
  
Roxy tried to maintain a positive expression and looked around. A few of the villagers were still giving her a bit of an odd look, but most of them didn't seem to notice her anymore. They would glance in her direction and then go back to whatever they were doing.  
  
She felt relieved. Perhaps they had finally come to accept her and were no longer suspicious of her being a stranger in their midst. On the other paw, they could have just gotten more complacent in knowing that she was being 'looked after' by the likes of Makari, Taka and Miri.  
  
"Good afternoon, Bogo!"  
  
Roxy jumped slightly when she realized that Miri was talking to someone. She stepped to the side and looked around the Audino to see a young-looking Pikachu warrior. He was almost her size. The green markings on his fur seemed to emphasize his eyes.  
  
"Good afternoon, Miri," he replied with a nod. When he noticed Roxy standing nearby, he gave her the same nod. "And to you as well, young one. What was your name?"  
  
She smiled nervously and replied in a quiet voice, "Roxy…"  
  
"I trust you are being accommodated well, Roxy?" he said, pronouncing her name strangely.  
  
Roxy skewed her lips. Make that _two_ things to ask Makari about.  
  
"Worry not," Miri replied for her, "She is well taken care of. Makari has given her lodgings and Taka is training her to fight."  
  
Bogo nodded in approval. "That is good news to hear." He flashed them both a quick smile before continuing on his way.  
  
After a moment, Roxy turned to Miri and said, "He seems nice."  
  
"Bogo is an excellent scout and lookout. He seemed rather friendly towards you, did he not?"  
  
The two continued walking, and Roxy nodded. "Yeah…I kind of expected everyone to still…Well, I dunno… I'm still a stranger."  
  
Miri and Roxy walked through the village some more, and Miri stopped to talk to two others along the way. Both of them seemed just as affable as Bogo had been. With every interaction, Roxy felt more and more of her shyness melt away. She still felt like an unexpected visitor, but the villagers were definitely acting a lot friendlier towards her now. She was starting to feel welcomed.  
  
When she wasn't talking, Roxy found herself gazing at the huts and up to the treetops. It was like a scene right out of a storybook to her. Even just seeing wild Pikachu in their natural habitat would have been a spectacle to her, but what these Pokémon had constructed was nothing short of a marvel.  
  
As they started to circle back around towards Miri's huts, they came across someone else that Miri wanted to talk to. Roxy paused a little upon seeing this new acquaintance.  
  
"Baza," Miri greeted, "Is everything going well?"  
  
The one in question, Baza, was easily the biggest Pikachu Roxy had ever seen. He was almost as tall as a Raichu. He looked quite strong and wielded a stone hammer-like weapon that Roxy believed was known as a 'Tomahawk' to the humans. Standing behind him were a pair of young Pichu and a Minun pup.  
  
Baza laughed loudly, and Roxy was a little surprised by his voice. It sounded much lighter and friendlier than she had expected. "The little devils keep me busy during the day, that is for sure."  
  
One of the Pichu giggled, but the other two were preoccupied with looking up at Roxy.  
  
"It is nice to see you, Miri," Baza said, and then turned to look at his other guest. "And you…!" he said, giving off a somewhat charismatic smile, "You are the human's Pikachu who ended up in our village."  
  
"Um…" Roxy murmured, unsure of how the bigger Pikachu felt about her exactly, "Yes?"  
  
"Well, I hope you have been handling life in the wilderness fine so far."  
  
"Oh!" she replied, pleased that his first topic of discussion was to ask how she was doing, "Well, um…It's hard. It's difficult and far outside of my comfort zone, but…" She paused and glanced back at Miri. "…It looks like I've got some good friends who are there to help me out."  
  
Baza laughed once more. He then lifted his Tomahawk off of his shoulder, twirled it round, and placed the head of the weapon on the ground so that he could lean on the handle. He did it so quickly that Roxy jumped slightly when the noticeably heavy weapon impacted the ground.  
  
"I…" she faltered briefly, "I, um…Heavens…Everything here is so _different_ …"  
  
"Well, not everything," Baza said with another grin. He held out his paw for Roxy to take, and she held out hers again. When their paws connected, she saw his confused expression.  
  
"I don't have 'the spark'," she explained, not for the first time since her introduction yesterday, "It's a rare but perfectly normal condition for Pikachu."  
  
"Oh," Baza replied, "Interesting."  
  
"What is that around your neck?" one of the Pichu suddenly piped up, reminding Roxy of the cubs that were present.  
  
She glanced down at them. One of the Pichu didn't seem to mind that she was there and was holding onto a small stick that resembled a weapon. However, it was the other Pichu that had spoken. He was half-hiding behind Baza's body with the Minun.  
  
Baza stepped away and allowed her to approach. She did so slowly, and leaned down so that she was closer to their eye-level. "This was a gift," she explained, "from a _very_ close friend of mine."  
  
"Oh," the Pichu replied, his curiosity satiated.  
  
"But what is it?" the other, bolder Pichu asked.  
  
She turned and smiled at him. "It's a 'collar'. It is something that I can wear, but see? It's also got my name on it." She held up the little tag with her name engraved on it for the cubs to see.  
  
The three glanced at it with curious eyes, which quickly turned to confusion. It took a moment for Roxy to realize that no Pokémon here was likely to know how to read human script. "My name is Roxy," she added in light of this.  
  
"It is strange," the bold Pichu said, giving her collar a scrutinizing look.  
  
"Well," she replied, "I come from a place far away from here. Pokémon out there look like I do. To me, it's _you_ that look a little strange." She smiled at them and then asked, "What are your names?"  
  
"Nakakai, Makurikai and Okikai," she heard Baza say from behind.  
  
"Hello young ones," she greeted them with a smile.  
  
"Why is there a flower on your head?" Nakakai, the bold one, asked.  
  
"It was also a gift."  
  
"Where are your marks?"  
  
Roxy paused, figuring that he meant the green body paint. "They, um…I don't have 'marks'… They don't do that where I'm from…"  
  
"You look strange," Nakakai said bluntly, catching Roxy by surprise, "Your fur is bare and you wear that strange thing on your neck."  
  
"Perhaps her tribe is just different," Makurikai, the other Pichu, said.  
  
"If she is here now, she should change."  
  
"Children…" Baza spoke up, a warning tone in his voice.  
  
Roxy smiled. "It's okay. I'm a little strange, I know. You don't see many wild Pokémon wearing a collar. But that's fine, Baza. I know they weren't trying to be hurtful."  
  
A moment passed as the two Pichu continued to stare in confusion at her collar and the flower. They were murmuring things to one another. It looked like Nakakai had more to say, but Baza's warning had all but silenced him.  
  
"I…I like it…"  
  
Roxy's ears twitched upon hearing the very quiet voice, and she turned to regard the third cub. The Minun, Okikai, looked noticeably meek and shy, but his eyes were locked on her collar.   
  
"You do?" Roxy asked with a big smile.  
  
Okikai fidgeted for a moment before he murmured, "Y-yes…"  
  
"Well, thank you young one! What do you like about it?"  
  
Okikai considered his answer for a moment before he said, "It…looks striking. It feels like a mark of…power."  
  
Roxy fell silent for a moment as she considered this. She resisted the urge to chuckle. That was certainly not something she had ever attributed to her collar before.  
  
"Wh-Why…do _you_ like it?"  
  
She smiled upon hearing the Minun's question. "I like it because…it represents a bond. A stronger bond than friendship, little one. This collar means I'm part of a family…A family that I miss so very much…" She glanced away for a moment as homesickness struck her. "I never want to take it off…because when I wear it, it feels like I'm always connected to the human who gave it to me."  
  
Okikai listened to her words with a shy sort of interest. Upon the word 'human', though, the three cubs immediately started to chatter amongst one another.   
  
"Okay, children," Baza interjected as he took a step closer and held up his weapon, "It is time to continue practicing. Train for a few minutes and then show me something."  
  
With that, the three cubs picked up their little sticks and started waving them around. Roxy was led away by Baza, but she glanced over her shoulder at them as they left.  
  
"Baza is training the young ones," Miri explained.  
  
"Oh, I see," Roxy said.  
  
"Indeed," Baza said, "They did seem interested to hear about your…"  
  
"Collar," Roxy clarified.  
  
"Your collar, yes. I too find it…interesting."  
  
"Oh?" Roxy glanced up at Baza, but frowned. She could see that his expression didn't really say 'interested', but rather something else. "What?"  
  
"I am sorry, but I do not really understand. Why do you continue to wear it now, if it is the mark of slavery?"  
  
Roxy's eyes shot open wide and she stopped dead in her tracks. "'Slavery'?! What??"  
  
"It is similar in principal to the Poké Balls that the humans use, is it not? It is something to show that you _belong_ to a human, right?"  
  
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Roxy was floored. "Pokémon that live with humans are _not_ slaves!" she retorted, "I am not a slave to my master! She's part of my family, and I'm part of hers! She provides food, shelter and care, and she is always nice to me!"  
  
Baza furrowed his brow. "Yet, they have taken you away from your life in the wild."  
  
"No, they haven't. My master hatched me from my egg. She was there when I took my first breath, and this is the first time in my whole life I've been without her. This collar is the only thing I have _left_ that connects me to her, and if I can help it I'll never take it off!"  
  
"But why do you call her 'master' then?"  
  
"I dunno!" she half-exclaimed, "I just do. It's just a word. Lots of Pokémon call their humans masters. She is my caretaker and I depend on her, but I'm not her _slave_!"  
  
"Roxy…?" Miri's voice cut in, "Are you crying?"  
  
"No!" she shouted, turning to face the Audino, but then paused and lowered her voice. "M-maybe…" she mumbled and raised a paw to wipe the tears from her eyes.  
  
"Come, Roxy. We shall go now."  
  
Roxy simply nodded and started following Miri, sniffling as she went.  
  
"I apologize, Roxy!" Baza called after them, "I did not think before I spoke." Roxy, however, didn't turn back or respond.  
  
She simply walked with her head low, one paw clutching her collar as if afraid that it would be taken away from her again, and the other wiping the tears from her eyes.  
  
"You are very good with children," Miri commented.  
  
Roxy sniffled once more and glanced up at her. "Y-you think so?"  
  
Miri smiled and nodded.  
  
"I, uh…I've played with the neighbourhood cubs a few times…"  
  
"It seemed to come very naturally to you."  
  
Roxy smiled, though there were still tears in her eyes. "Thanks…" she muttered, "I'm sorry that I'm such a mess…It's just so hard. I'm trying to make the best of things, since I'm pretty much stuck here…but I _really_ miss her."  
  
"I understand, child," Miri spoke, "Whether human or Pokémon, when a strong bond is severed there are bound to be feelings of anguish. The best thing you can do is to not give up hope."  
  
"I don't even know what happened…My master might be hurt!"  
  
"Try not to dwell on things you do not know, and focus on the present."  
  
Roxy nodded and wiped away the last of her tears. "I'm sorry…" she apologized again.  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry about. Your tears are justified."  
  
The Pikachu took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "I'll have to apologize to Baza. I didn't mean to snap at him."  
  
Miri patted her on the back and said, "I am sure he already forgives you."  
  
The two wandered through the village a bit more, slowly heading back to Miri's hut. However, Roxy couldn't seem to break out of her funk. Baza's comments had dug up suppressed feelings of homesickness and the heartbreak of separation. There was a heavy weight in her heart and a weariness in her head.  
  
"Ah! Look who has returned," Miri said once they had reached a familiar spot.  
  
Roxy glanced up to see what she was talking about. There, standing in front of his hut and holding his spear was someone who made her smile immediately.  
  
"Makari!!" she exclaimed before quickly dashing over to his side.  
  
The Pikachu turned to greet her, but was surprised when she suddenly tackled him with a warm hug. Her exuberance nearly sent him off balance.  
  
"Hello, Roxy," he spoke, "It is good to see you."  
  
Roxy gave him a quick squeeze before taking a step back. "I missed you!" she said with a big smile on her face.  
  
Makari chuckled. "I was only gone for half of the day."  
  
She flushed slightly in embarrassment, but shook it off and continued to smile. "I'm just really happy to see you, Makari."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "It's, um…" she said as she glanced to the side, "It's been a long day…"


	6. No Choice

"Makari?"   
  
Roxy turned her head to look at the other Pikachu sitting next to her. "Where did you go today?"  
  
He turned to meet her gaze, and she focused on his bold, hazel eyes. They shone in a strange way under the moonlight, but his warm smile was there to prevent his expression from looking sinister. She glanced up at the feather behind his ear. She liked the way it complimented his look, much the same way she adored her own flower.  
  
"I was on patrol," he replied.  
  
"What is 'patrol'?"  
  
"It is a task that everyone in this village, again save for the cubs and our healer, contributes to," Makari explained, "We take it in turns to traverse the outer reaches of our Clan's territory, usually in pairs or groups of three. We watch for intruders, and fight off anyone who attempts to come in. Patrol runs for all hours of the day and night, and it is thanks to those on patrol that our village remains safe from attack."  
  
Roxy listened to his words with wide eyes. "Y-you mean you were…on, like, _guard_ duty?"  
  
"I was guarding our territory, yes."  
  
"Oh my gosh…Did anyone attack you?"  
  
He shook his head. "Not today, no. I cannot speak for everyone, however. There are many who think they can sneak into our clan and grab a quick, easy meal. We ensure that such is never the case."  
  
Roxy stared at him for a few moments, blinking occasionally, then slowly turned her head and looked at the ground beneath her paws.  
  
"What is troubling you?"  
  
She gulped. "Oh, nothing…I just…Well, you kinda reminded me that I'm not really in a totally safe place."  
  
"Ah, do not worry about such things, Roxy. Foes that manage to reach the village itself are extremely rare, and they never fare well against the combined forces of the entire Clan. As long as you do not wander too far, then you are safe."  
  
Roxy nodded slowly and said, "Yeah…I guess you're right."  
  
"The Thunder Clan has consisted almost entirely of herbivores for generations. We did not survive that long by chance."  
  
Roxy sat there for a moment in silence. "It sounds…dangerous," she murmured.  
  
Makari paused before replying. "It can be…"  
  
"Um…" Roxy fidgeted with her paws. "I think Miri said that…the Wise Ones…would want _me_ to…go on patrol?" It was difficult for her to get the words out of her mouth, because she was afraid of what the answer would probably be.  
  
"Roxy, no-one is going to put you in a dangerous situation until you are ready," he reassured her, "…but yes, this is the reason you must learn to fight. As a member of our Clan, you will share in the duty of protecting our village."  
  
She whined loudly and reached for her tail, pulling it into a tight hug. "B-b-but…" she whimpered.  
  
"Roxy, that is in the future. Do not concern yourself with it now."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"Listen to me. Focusing on what may come in the future is no way to live. What is important is what is here and now, okay? Right now, all you have to worry about is your training with Taka."  
  
Roxy didn't respond, her lips quivering.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
She felt his paw upon her foreleg, which caused her to turn and look at him. Again, she found herself lost in the way the moonlight danced in his eyes. Inexplicably, it had an immediate calming effect on her. If she didn't know any better, she would have suspected he was using a Psychic-type move on her.  
  
"I…I'm sorry, Makari…I'm just so scared. No matter what, the fact is that I just don't belong here. I'm not a warrior like you guys are."  
  
Makari smiled warmly and patted her back. "Just remain calm, okay? It will all work out."  
  
She gazed up at him, feeling like a little cub looking up at a parent. "It will…?"  
  
He chuckled. "Things do have a strange way of working out."  
  
Makari then moved his paw up from her back to her opposite shoulder, pulling her towards him in a short, gentle one-armed hug. It was a simple gesture, but it managed to make her smile. Her tail slipped from her paws and fell back to her side.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes. "Thanks, Makari."  
  
"Thanks are not necessary, Roxy."  
  
She smiled in contentment for a moment, and then opened her eyes and looked up at him again. "Um, by the way…" The question had been eating away at her and she figured now was as good a time as any to bring it up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why do you…y'know…say my name like that?"  
  
Makari blinked.  
  
"You say 'Ro-ka-si'. Actually, everybody here does…but my name's pronounced ' _Rock-see_ '."  
  
"Ro…" Makari muttered.  
  
"I-it's okay," Roxy sputtered, "I'm not mad or anything. I mean, you can call me that if you want. I was just…wondering."  
  
"Roxy…" Makari said, actually pronouncing her name correctly. When Roxy looked surprised in response, Makari chuckled. "You must forgive me, _Roxy_. I am afraid it may have been due to old habits."  
  
She tilted her head. "Waddaya mean?"  
  
Makari leaned back and glanced up at the stars, a reflective look upon his face. "You see, the names for all of the Pokémon in this forest come from the old language."  
  
"The…old language?"  
  
"Yes. From ancient times long, long past. It is a long-standing tradition among all of the Clans to be given names from the old language." He turned and looked at her. "The alphabet of the old language would speak your name as 'ro-ka-si'."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy murmured, digesting this information.  
  
"You see," Makari continued, "Each name has a meaning, every single one. 'Taka' means 'Quiet warrior', for example."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Makari nodded. "'Miri' means 'Friendly healer'. 'Karizu' means 'Friend and cunning warrior'."  
  
"Wow…" Roxy was gazing up at him in awe. What he had told her was absolutely fascinating in her eye. She had never thought about names having meaning behind them before. "What does 'Makari' mean?"  
  
He chuckled and continued to glance at the stars, perhaps a hint of bashfulness showing in his expression. "It means 'Brave warrior, kind heart'."  
  
Roxy sat there for a moment, gazing at him, and then smiled warmly. "That's…really nice," she said softly, "I like it. It really fits you."  
  
"You are too kind," he said with another chuckle.  
  
Then, Roxy blinked. "You said 'warrior' a few times. I guess that's common for a place like this, huh?"  
  
"Somewhat," Makari replied with a shrug, "You may notice that Taka, Karizu and I all have 'ka' in our names. You see, 'ka' means 'warrior'."  
  
"Ohhh…I see." Roxy said with a nod. Then she paused. "Yeah, actually! I remember that…that Zangoose, his name was 'Kazaka'."  
  
Makari frowned. "Indeed. I pity him."  
  
Roxy frowned and said, "Why?"  
  
"I believe he bestowed that name upon himself. Why else would he have 'ka' in his name twice? Such a name is considered a display of self-righteousness and arrogance."  
  
"Oh…Because his name is trying to say that he's a warrior…twice?"  
  
Makari nodded.  
  
Roxy was about to continue this line of conversation, when something suddenly occurred to her. She furrowed her brow. "Wait a minute…" she murmured, "How do you…How would you get a name that knows who you are?"  
  
For the first time since she had met him, Makari turned and gave Roxy a confused look. "…What?"  
  
She shook her head. "I mean…how did Miri get named a 'healer'? I mean…she wasn't _always_ a healer, right? What about when she was a cub?" She furrowed her brow, considering this naming paradox. She was reminded of the names of the characters on _My Little Ponyta_.  
  
Now, Makari smiled knowingly. Instead of answering, he asked her a question. "Do you remember the name of Adi's son?"  
  
Roxy thought back, recalling that Adi was the Luxray. She thought about the name of the little Shinx, and soon enough she remembered it. "His name was Adikai."  
  
"Have you met any other cubs?"  
  
"Uhh…Yeah, I met a few earlier. I think one of them was called…Nakakai?"  
  
Makari nodded. "I trust that you see the similarity?"  
  
"They both end in 'kai'. Was Adikai named after his father or something?"  
  
"Not exactly," Makari said with a wave of his paw, "Newborn cubs are named as such, because 'kai' means 'child of'. Adikai is 'the child of Adi', his father. Cubs are known by this name until they grow up and prove their skills to the tribe, whereupon they receive a new name."  
  
"Oh, wow. I see, I see," Roxy said with a nod, "That's very interesting. I guess it's a good thing that Pokémon rarely have more than one cub at a time."  
  
"Indeed."   
  
Roxy then chuckled. "I think my master just gave me this name because it was the name of one of her toys or something. Not quite as spectacular, haha!"  
  
Makari laughed along with her, and then the two fell silent once more. Roxy sighed and rested her head. Sitting under the stars like this was rather peaceful. In truth, it was perhaps the calmest she had felt since she had arrived in this accursed forest.  
  
Something jostled her slightly and she heard Makari say, "You should get some sleep. No doubt Taka will want you awake at the crack of dawn."  
  
Roxy tilted her head slightly to look up at him. For a moment, her mind didn't quite understand what exactly was going on. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she was leaning her head against Makari's shoulder. She quickly bolted upright, embarrassed for having invaded his personal space like that without even realizing it.  
  
"Y-yeah…" she muttered, "You're right." Her face turned a soft shade of red.  
  
She then got up and moved over to the bed Makari had set up for her. She laid down upon the bed of grass and did her best to get comfortable. Makari padded over a moment later and got settled in his own bed.  
  
"Have pleasant dreams, Roxy," he spoke softly, "I will see you tomorrow."  
  
"Okay…You too, Makari," she half-whispered. After a moment, she quietly added, "Goodnight…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Again."  
  
Roxy grunted in both exertion and pain as she swung her tail around once more to strike the wooden target.  
  
"Again."  
  
She uttered a whine of protest. "But-"  
  
" _Again!_ "  
  
Roxy shut her eyes and hit the target once more. By this point, she couldn't even feel her tail through the aching pain coursing through it. According to Taka a Pikachu's tail was a versatile weapon, but to her this just felt like trying to win a boxing match with her ears or something.  
  
"You are not hitting it with the flat side of your tail," Taka said to her in that emotionless tone of his, "And twist your body more to make it snap."  
  
"I'm getting dizzy!" she complained.  
  
"Then you are not performing the techniques I taught you to avoid dizziness."  
  
"But you went too fast! I never got them right!"  
  
"Stop complaining," he said simply, "If this were a real fight, complaining to the enemy will just result in a painful death."  
  
Roxy's ears splayed back as she frowned, a tiny whine escaping her lips. Her second day of training with Taka was going no better than the first day. Apparently, Taka believed in learning through repetition. He would have her perform something over and over again and then, regardless of whether or not she had improved or even grasped the concept, he would move on to something else.  
  
Or maybe he just liked seeing her suffer. Roxy was open to both possibilities at this point.  
  
"Hurry up! Again!"  
  
Roxy groaned and forced herself to try and hit the target with her tail once more. She had absolutely no motivation to do any of this, nor confidence in herself that she would succeed. After missing the target and ending up face-first on the ground, she groaned once more and gazed out at her surroundings. Makari wasn't there; he was off gathering berries.  
  
"Now," Taka barked, "Go stand in the middle of the training area."  
  
Roxy slowly pushed herself up off of the ground, wincing at her many aches and pains. "Here?" she asked, pointing to a spot.  
  
"Yes," Taka replied, "And face away from me."  
  
Roxy did as she was told.  
  
"Now close your eyes."  
  
She glanced over her shoulder and gave him a perplexed look. "What?"  
  
" _Close your eyes._ "  
  
Roxy frowned in confusion, then heaved a sigh and turned her head back around so she was facing away from Taka. She closed her eyes and then simply sat there, wondering what this was all about.  
  
The relative silence of the forest greeted her. There were the distant sounds of the wind in the branches, far-off bird Pokémon, and the vague chatter of the other villagers. All in all, though, it was rather quiet. When she shut herself off from the world like this, it was almost peaceful in a way. It allowed her to focus on the gentle, calming breeze that was drifting past, and the many interesting scents of the forest.  
  
 _Whack!_  
  
Roxy's eyes bugged out and she yelped loudly in pain. She held both paws to the right side of her torso, seething and moaning. She whipped her head around to see what had hit her, and saw Taka standing nearby with a blunt wooden weapon in his paws. He had a disapproving look on his face.  
  
"Ow!" she exclaimed, "What was that for?!"  
  
"I am a predator," he stated simply, "You did not detect my approach, and now you are dead."  
  
Roxy tried to turn and face him proper, but the painful tenderness in her ribs nearly made her double over. No doubt there was a glaring red welt developing under her fur.  
  
"How was I s'posed to know you were coming?!" she shouted indignantly, "My eyes were closed!"  
  
"You cannot always rely on your sight."  
  
"Wh-"  
  
"Your senses must be fine-tuned so that you can detect approach from any side. Sights, sounds, smells, movement, even changes in the way the air moves around you. Predators will not always walk right up in front of you. More often they will be sneaking up on your backside, and you must be prepared."  
  
He then turned and stepped away from her, leaving her staring after him in disbelief. "What was I supposed to do?!" she shouted.  
  
"Ideally?" he replied, "You should have ducked, jumped, or grabbed the weapon with your paw. At the very least you should have attempted to dodge or intercept, even if you had been unsuccessful. But you simply sat there and let me approach."  
  
"Yeah, because you _told_ me to!"  
  
Taka just shook his head.  
  
Roxy moaned in protest. "How much more is there today?"  
  
"Close your eyes and we'll do it again," Taka commanded, ignoring her question.  
  
"But I…I…" Roxy wanted so badly to just say 'No' to Taka and walk away, but found she didn't have the courage to do so. Even just delaying for a few seconds was causing Taka to give her a death glare. After a few moments of indecision, she sighed in hopeless defeat and closed her eyes again.  
  
Predictably, the exercises continued to end in pain.  
  
Soon, Roxy was lying on the ground and holding her paws towards the various sore spots Taka had given her. She felt absolutely miserable, on the verge of tears, and wanted nothing more than to just leave.  
  
"Get up."  
  
Roxy whined, as if someone were trying to wake her up early.  
  
"Now."  
  
She sighed once more. The only thing that was improving was _Taka_ 's motivation towards this whole debacle. Despite his earlier protests, he now seemed fully invested in trying to teach her how to fight.  
  
Roxy bitterly wondered if this was due to a touch of masochism.   
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The lesson seemed endless. Makari showed up towards the end to offer his support, but honestly it didn't help very much. By the time Taka finally decided to let her leave, she felt like just collapsing on the spot. Makari helped her limp away, but her spirit felt crushed. She felt lower than the dirt she was walking upon.  
  
"I'm hopeless…"  
  
"Roxy, you have only just begun. Now is not the time to give up hope."  
  
"I'm just a stupid pet. I can't do this."  
  
Makari paused and then said, "I will talk to my brother. I do not think he realizes how rough he is being."  
  
" _I_ think he does…" Roxy mumbled.  
  
For the rest of the day, Makari spent time with her and they did a number of relaxing activities. However, Roxy couldn't break out of her funk. Only two days of training under Taka, and she already wanted to give up on it forever. Aside from running for her life and fighting the Zangoose, it was probably the worst experience of her life.  
  
"Do you think the Wise Ones can make an exception for me…?" she dismally asked at one point.  
  
"I…I do not know," Makari had responded, but the tone in his voice suggested that the answer was 'no'.  
  
It was only once the sun was setting that Roxy started to realize how gloomy she was acting. From up on the raised platform where they were sitting, she turned and glanced at the companion beside her. Immediately, she felt bad for being so grumpy in Makari's presence. A part of her was demanding to know why she had decided to ruin the day with him.  
  
"I'm sorry," she muttered.  
  
"For what?" Makari said, a hint of laughter in his voice.  
  
"For being all mopey like this…"  
  
"Ah, worry not. Your feelings are justified. Things are difficult right now, so it is quite understandable. You have not upset me or anything."  
  
Roxy glanced up at him. "Really…?"  
  
Makari smiled and reached his paw across her shoulders. "Really."  
  
The young Pikachu smiled, subconsciously sidling a little closer to the older male. She let out a relaxing sigh and spent the next ten minutes simply watching the village and its residents go by. Watching these 'tribal' Pikachu was still a little fascinating to her. From an outside perspective, the village seemed quaint and peaceful.  
  
Soon enough, she found herself lost in thought. "Makari?" she asked after quite a while of silence.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Can…Can I make Taka like me more?" She frowned. It was becoming clearer to her that she was going to be stuck with Taka for a while. Though she didn't much care for the brash Pikachu, she figured that improving their acquaintanceship could only help in the long run.  
  
Makari laughed bitterly, making her spirits fall. "That is one of the unsolvable mysteries of life, I am afraid. Taka simply is not very social. If one is to become friends with him, then it is usually by his paw.  
  
"Oh…" Roxy murmured.  
  
Before she could say any more, the two were interrupted by the sounds of commotion coming from the forest floor below. They both glanced over in the direction of the noise and Roxy gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her paws.  
  
"Maku!"  
  
"Maku, are you okay?"  
  
"Urgh…I will live. Do not panic."  
  
"You! Fetch Miri!"  
  
Roxy quivered slightly as she stared down at the warrior Pikachu that was limping towards the village centre. One foreleg hung limply at his side, and much of his fur was stained lightly with blood. He wore one of those 'packs' around his shoulder like Makari did, only this one had been roughly torn off.  
  
Makari seemed like he was about to stand up, but then he paused and glanced in the other direction. "Miri is coming," he commented, "Everything is okay."  
  
Roxy glanced over and saw that, indeed, the Audino was rushing towards the scene. "What…" she uttered almost silently, "What happened…?"  
  
"Predators, no doubt," Makari replied in a low tone, "He may have been caught off guard. It looks like they managed to drive it off before he was too badly hurt."  
  
"He…got attacked?" Roxy's quivering worsened.  
  
"I may have to cover his patrol duties. He will no doubt need to rest."  
  
"On…patrol? He got attacked while he was… But… But _you_ were…!"  
  
Makari slowly turned and gave her a sage look. "Roxy, those on patrol stop predator attacks at least three times every day. We are strong and formidable, able to fight off predators and keep our village safe, but…"   
  
Roxy could only look at him in shock.  
  
"I am sorry if I have caused you fright," he said, "but I did not want to lie to you."  
  
"I, um…" Roxy muttered, slowly turning to look back down at the ground. Miri was down there, closing her eyes and focusing a Heal Pulse on the injured Pikachu, while others were wrapping some of his wounds in bandages made out of leaves.  
  
She gulped.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Not fast enough. You would be dead."  
  
Roxy clenched her eyes shut and grimaced. It wasn't because she was in pain, though she was, but rather she was just plain exasperated and nearly fed up.  
  
"Again."  
  
She fought the urge to whimper as she got back on her hind legs. She gripped the blunt spear in her paws, but her whole body was beginning to tremble from a lack of energy. She weakly gazed up at her 'teacher', standing across from her with a blunt spear of his own. If it had been a real spear, it would have been coated in her blood considering how many times it had struck her.  
  
"Taka, I…" she panted.  
  
"We have not been training for very long," Taka spoke emotionlessly, "You should not be this tired."  
  
She groaned. After failing his earlier tests, and at the suggestion of Makari, Taka had dumbed down this lesson to a mere three strike combo that she was meant to block with her own spear. Even this simple task she couldn't seem to grasp.  
  
"Keep at it, Roxy!" Makari cheered from the sidelines, "You can do it!"  
  
Roxy frowned, panting heavily. Her heart was beating furiously as she tried to catch her breath. She knew she wouldn't be able to do this again, successfully or otherwise. She was beaten and exhausted.  
  
"Go."  
  
Her ears perked as she heard Taka's command, scrambling to raise her spear up in time. Taka was swinging at her in the same directions each time, so she had learned how to block the first strike. It was moving fast enough to block the other two that was giving her trouble.  
  
"Ngh!" she cried out as she held her spear down at an angle. It caught Taka's spear, but she already knew that she had moved too slowly. Given her awkward position, there was no way she would be able to move her spear in time to block the third blow. Instead, she just clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for the pain.  
  
Roxy exclaimed loudly as the blunt spear caught her forcefully in the midsection. For a short moment she tried to steady her hind paws, but this soon became a lost cause. Instead, the force of Taka's attack pushed her back off of her paws and into the air slightly. She sailed back a few feet before landing in a painful heap on her back. The spear clattered from her paws and she let out a low moan.  
  
"Unacceptable," came Taka's displeased voice as she heard him step away.  
  
A second set of pawsteps reached her ears, and soon she saw the face of Makari looking down at her from above. He wore a concerned frown. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
"Ow…" she muttered weakly.  
  
Makari gave her a sympathetic smile, then turned his head upwards to look in the direction of his brother. "Taka!"  
  
" _What?!_ " Taka snapped.  
  
Makari was not fazed by the sudden outburst. "You are being too hard on her. You have to move at a simpler pace, or she will _never_ learn anything."  
  
She heard Taka scoff. "Cubs learn faster than she does."  
  
"Cubs have instinct," Makari countered, "and that is not something she can rely upon." He then glanced down at her briefly. "I mean no offense by this."  
  
Honestly, there was nothing to get offended about. Makari was only telling the truth, and Roxy knew it.  
  
"Look!" Taka shouted, "I have no desire to be teaching this _pet_ for a thousand moons. If I go any slower, then I will be training her until the day I die."  
  
"Taka…"  
  
"The fact remains that she is not skilled, and she is not _trying_!"  
  
Roxy slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. It hurt every joint in her body. She sat there silently, having nothing to contribute to the argument. She really just wanted to ground to swallow her up at this point anyway.  
  
"The problem is," Makari continued, "that you are focusing on testing over teaching. You instruct her to do something, and then have her repeatedly do it until she gets better. Meanwhile, she has not actually _learned_ anything."  
  
"That is how _I_ learned. That is how _you_ learned, Makari. That is how every Pokémon in this village learned how to fight."  
  
"She is not from this village."  
  
Roxy frowned worriedly, glancing back and forth between the two other Pikachu. Now, they were just glaring at one another, though Taka looked furious while Makari just looked displeased. It seemed that neither of them was willing to hear the others' side.  
  
Roxy didn't like the fact that they were arguing, but she was silently celebrating the fact that Taka wasn't making her do anything at the moment.  
  
Makari sighed in defeat and leaned down next to Roxy. "I am sorry about him," he spoke, "Try not to get disheartened. The more punishment your body takes, the more your natural defences rise. He does have one principal understood, and that is that experience can only benefit you."  
  
Roxy just whined and glanced down at the ground. She was exhausted, hurting, and desperately wanting to just give up. She had no motivation to speak of.  
  
"It will be all right," Makari reassured her.  
  
"I…" she squeaked, but no more words came out.  
  
After a brief moment of silence, three sets of ears twitched as the sounds of approaching pawsteps reached the trio. Roxy glanced up, and the three turned to look at the young Pikachu that was approaching them. He gestured towards Makari, who gave Roxy a quick apologetic look before walking over to speak with him. Roxy watched them talk quietly for a moment, unable to hear what they were saying.  
  
"Are you going to get up?"  
  
Roxy yelped in surprise when Taka's voice was suddenly three feet from her ear. She whirled around to face him. "Ah! I, uh… I…"  
  
Taka was giving her a condescending look that showed how little patience he was holding onto.  
  
"I, um…I guess…?"  
  
Taka merely rolled his eyes and walked back over to the edge of the training area. Roxy watched him forlornly, and then turned as Makari started walking back over to her.  
  
"I need to go on patrol," he spoke, cutting straight to the chase. Upon seeing Roxy's disheartened expression, he continued and said, "I truly am sorry to keep disappearing like this. It will not be for very long. It is just that I am needed to pick up the slack as Maku is injured."  
  
"Oh right…" Roxy murmured, remembering the Pikachu that had staggered back into the village yesterday. This did little to calm her nerves. Now, all she could think about was Makari returning to the village in the same state.  
  
"If I could stay here while you trained, I would. I am afraid, however, that I must go for now."  
  
"I know you would," Roxy replied. At this point, she didn't even have to think about it.  
  
" _Pet!_ " Taka spat, causing them both to turn their heads, "Stop wasting time!"  
  
Roxy sighed. "Just…promise to come back soon?" she asked, "…And…to be careful?"  
  
Makari smiled warmly. "Of course. I promise."   
  
Roxy smiled demurely as well. The two bid each other quick goodbyes and before Roxy knew it, Makari was gone once more. An empty sigh escaped her lips.   
  
"Well…?!"   
  
She frowned. The young Pikachu slowly stood up on her hind legs, still feeling pain in all of her joints, and turned to look at the rather irate Taka.   
  
"If you are done dawdling," he commanded, "then I would like for us to train your agility and dodging skills."  
  
Her frown grew heavier. She knew what that meant. It meant getting hit a bunch more times in a desperate and seemingly futile attempt to make her body react faster.  
  
"Taka," she whined, feeling like she had to finally stand up for herself before she _really_ hurt herself, "I'm totally wiped out! I'm too tired to do any of that stuff…" She gave him a pleading look. "Can we _please_ take a break? Even for just, like, three minutes?"  
  
"That is humourous," Taka replied in a dry tone, "Do predators stop attacking you to give you a five minute break?"  
  
"Taka, c'mon…"  
  
After another moment of uncomfortable silence, Taka finally scoffed and threw up his forepaws in defeat. "Fine, _pet_!"  
  
Roxy crossed her forelegs and gave him a sour look. "I do have a name, you know."  
  
Taka narrowed his eyes at her. "No, you do not," he replied, his voice low and even, "You have something that those _humans_ decided to call you. It is their word in their language. You do not have a name to call your own."  
  
Taken aback, Roxy's jaw fell slightly. She was about to give a scathing retort to the warrior, but when Taka turned around without another word and walked off, she decided to just give up. Happy that he had at least given her a short break, she sat down on a nearby piece of wood and tried to relax.  
  
With the pressures of Taka's training taken away, even for a short time, Roxy found she was able to breathe a little easier. Her whole body still ached and throbbed from the abuse she had been taking, but at least she was able to catch her breath. She sighed as she rested, trying not to let her negative emotions play with her. Makari had gone off and she was stuck doing more nigh-impossible tasks for Taka, none of which she wanted to do in the first place.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and sat there for a few peaceful moments, trying to blot out the unpleasant present and focus on some more tranquil moments from her past. Despite bringing up feelings of homesickness, it did seem to help a little. The sick feeling in her stomach from her anxiety seemed to abate.   
  
It was bound to be short-lived, though. Roxy knew that Taka would only give her another minute at most before it was back to rigorous training. Roxy sent a silent prayer to Dialga that time would just stop.  
  
The ambient light of the day grew noticeably dimmer, and for one ludicrous moment she thought that her prayer had worked. She opened her eyes and glanced up to the sky, noticing out the corner of her eye that Taka was doing the same. Through a small gap in the tree cover, it was hard to see much of the sky. Roxy could see well enough, though, and could see what had caused the disturbance.  
  
Roxy's pupils shrunk to dots and her ears splayed back as a distraught expression plastered itself onto her face. A horrible, damning realization hit her hard and she felt her stomach sink right down into her gut. The thought hadn't even occurred to her, despite it now seeming as clear as the sky above her no longer was.  
  
A thick layer of clouds had rolled in and blotted out the sun. Dark clouds. _Rain-filled clouds._  
  
A heavy sense of dread enveloped the little Pikachu. Roxy _hated_ the rain. She couldn't _stand_ it! At the first sign of raindrops, she would immediately scurry back into the house as quickly as she could. Getting caught out in the rain was an absolutely miserable experience to her, and one she tried as hard as possible to avoid. Rain to her meant a miserable, ruined day. Rain meant escaping to the warm embrace of her master, the comforting feel of towels to dry her off, or an umbrella over her and her master's heads.  
  
A single drop of water impacted right on the bridge of her nose, and then all at once the heavens opened up.  
  
Roxy raised her paws up over her head, but it was utterly futile. She was soaked within seconds. The heavy downpour of water cascaded upon her, making her a sopping wet mess of fur. The rain's chill soaked her to the bone, making her shiver. This was more than a mere drizzle, it was a full on storm. She had been so focused on her horrible training that she hadn't even noticed its approach. Roxy had thought training with Taka was the worst part of her day so far, but now she decided that she had been wrong.  
  
Roxy whipped her head about, still uselessly holding her paws over her head, trying to think of a course of action. There were no houses or towel-hugs from her master to be found out here. Roxy grew frantic as she got wetter and wetter by the second, eventually deciding to flee to Makari's hut. She only hoped that the primitive huts' roofs were waterproof.  
  
She turned and began to run towards the hut, so utterly flummoxed that she ran on her hind legs while still trying to cover her head. Nothing in the world mattered more to her than getting out of the rain as soon as possible.  
  
The boomerang landed right in front of her, slightly embedded in the ground, making her squeak in surprise and come to a sudden halt. Moments later, Taka landed in front of her and picked it up. He was glaring at her with a half furious and half confused look.  
  
" _Where_ do you think you are going?!" he demanded, "Your training for today is not over!"  
  
Roxy gave him a distressed look, frowning at him as if he were saying something insane. "It's raining!" she exclaimed, hoping this would get him to move so that she could spend less time getting drenched.  
  
Taka raised an eyebrow and crossed his forelegs. "Are you serious?"  
  
"C'mon, Taka! I'm getting wet!" she pleaded.  
  
"Oh really?" he retorted, "Do you think that danger will stop hunting you down and leave you alone…just because it starts to rain? Is that really what you think?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Do you think that a predator is going to just give up on chasing you because it gets a little bit wet?!"  
  
"But…But…"  
  
Taka gave a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, I do not even know why I bother. You have the instincts of a hatchling."  
  
Roxy's wet fur was starting to droop in front of her eyes now. The added weight of the water felt like it was pulling her down, and she just felt _disgusting_. "I…B-but, I…" she mumbled, trying to come up with an excuse that would work.  
  
Taka glared at her, tapping his hind paw impatiently.  
  
She flashed back to the time she had accidentally been locked out of the house in the pouring rain, and no-one had been home to let her in. That had been a wet and miserable experience, but even then she had the house's awnings to hide under. Only the trees were above her now, and they made the rain _worse_ because of how the water collected on the branches before falling.  
  
"I can't…!" she muttered, but the words died on her lips under Taka's intimidating glare. The warrior, simply lifted up his forepaw and pointed commandingly back towards the training area. Roxy sputtered for a few moments, knowing that she would rather do anything else than continue to train in the pouring rain.  
  
Ultimately though, she sighed in defeat and hung her head. She then turned around and sullenly marched back to the training area with Taka following behind her.   
  
"It baffles me why this upsets you so much," Taka commented, "but you will learn to adapt. You have no choice."  
  
Roxy just whined pitifully.  
  
So, her day of training continued, though it was about five times worse. It wasn't long at all before Roxy set a new personal record for being outside in the rain, and that was not something she was happy about. The rain continued to pour down from above, getting heavier as time went on. Every drop that struck her only served to drag her mood further and further down. She wanted to cry.  
  
Taka was undeterred by the rain. In fact, he acted as if it wasn't even there. Nothing seemed to slow him down. Roxy tried her best to do her exercises, but she just couldn't focus. She was too upset, growing more miserable by the minute as she got progressively wetter and colder. The air brought with it a chilly wind, dragging the raindrops at an angle to strike her right in the face, and her paws were getting uncomfortably water-logged from the wet grass she had to walk upon.   
  
Roxy began to wonder which was worse, this or her encounter with the Zangoose.  
  
It wasn't long before her fur was a complete mess, wetter than it had ever gotten before. The wet weapons kept slipping from her paws and it was hard to see anything through the heavy coating of rain both in the air and over her eyes. Roxy was slowing down more and more, withdrawing and wanting desperately to just leave and hide away.  
  
Finally, Taka decided that he'd had enough of her behaviour, realizing that he wasn't getting any educating done anyway. With a wave of his paw, he dismissed her. It was as if Roxy were at the Rapidash races. She was off like a loaded gun as soon as he had said she could leave. She didn't say a word to him or take a single look back; she simply turned and ran.  
  
Roxy's fur resembled a wet mop at this point. She was freezing, soaking wet, and felt horrible. She wanted nothing more than to get somewhere that was out of the rain. She zeroed in on Makari's hut and ran like the wind. Despite how wet she already was, Roxy wanted to get hit by as few further raindrops as she could.   
  
Her agile paws barely touched the wet grass beneath her. She ran almost as fast as when she had run from the Aggron. All she cared about was reaching Makari's hut, though it was halfway across the village.  
  
She offered herself a brief glimpse of her surroundings as she passed by. While she did not enjoy the rain, she did enjoy _watching_ the rain. Even now as she practically ran for her life, she liked how the primitive village looked under a cloak of rain. There were a few Pokémon here and there, but it looked like most of them were hiding away inside of their huts.  
  
"Pssh…" Roxy muttered, "Taka did it on purpose…"  
  
Roxy zipped around a few more trees, getting nearer to her destination though not nearly fast enough for her. Thick droplets of water pelted her as she ran, making it difficult to see where she was going. Occasional splashes of water were flung up from the blades of grass, making her grimace.   
  
Finally, she spotted her destination. Makari's hut sat a few trees away from her. Her ears perked up as she saw it, noticing that a familiar Pikachu was standing in the doorway. Makari was back! A small sense of elation swept through her. This was great. Makari was sure to know some way for her to dry off.   
  
Roxy was panting at this point. Makari glanced up from whatever he was doing, seeing her running towards him. He smiled and held up a paw in greeting and, in spite of her condition, Roxy smiled back. She preferred to spend rainy days inside, but it was no fun spending them alone. She was almost there. Just a few more strides and she would be out of the rain.  
  
That was the moment that the gods of misfortune decided to act one last time. Roxy's eyes shot open wide as she felt her paw slip out from under her. She had stepped on a particularly slippery patch of grass, making her forepaw slide backwards and under her. She cried out as she immediately lost her balance. She tried to compensate with her other three paws, but the ground in this area was just too slippery. With one final shout of surprise, she found herself falling face-first towards the ground.  
  
 _Splat._  
  
A great splash was thrown up around her as Roxy landed square in the middle of a big mud puddle. The force of the impact had managed to sink her rather deep into the goopy mess. She had essentially just been treated to an unwanted mud bath.  
  
She lay there for a moment, almost completely surrounded by the thick mud. Then, she felt herself being pulled up and out of the mud by Makari's paws. She gasped for air once her mouth was free from the muck, and Makari helped her into an upright sitting position.  
  
Roxy gingerly held up her forepaws, not even daring to look down at herself. Except for a small area of her back, she was _completely_ covered in a thick layer of oozing, icky mud. It was all over her head and face, dripping off of her limbs, and even hanging off of her tail. She could feel it sticking to her, embracing her in an unwelcome, disgusting hug. The continuing heavy rain didn't help, as it just made the mud even more slimy and gross.  
  
"Are you okay?!" Makari asked in concern.  
  
Roxy just sat there in silence for a moment, mouth hanging open in shock and eyes staring ahead at nothing. Makari repeated his question, but she didn't answer. She couldn't. Finally, after everything that had happened, this had been the last straw. Roxy just couldn't take it anymore, so she broke down and started to cry.  
  
Her forelimbs fell limply at her side, splashing in the mud a little, and she just sat there and wailed to the heavens. All of the frustration, anxiety and despair that had been building up finally had nowhere else to go, and all she could do was let it out.  
  
"Roxy…" she heard Makari say, his voice a mixture of concern and compassion. She felt his paws gently grab onto her and try to pull her up out of the mud puddle, but she had lost the will to move. When it was clear that she wouldn't budge, Makari instead decided to step into the puddle and give her a hug.  
  
Roxy's breath caught in her throat briefly as she registered this act of kindness, but ultimately it was of little comfort. She didn't even feel the strength to hug him back. There was a pain in her heart like she had never felt before, and she honestly didn't know how to deal with it.  
  
"It is okay…" Makari spoke softly, "Everything is okay."  
  
She didn't reply. She almost didn't hear him. Roxy was vaguely aware of Makari's paws clearing away some of the thick muck that was on her face. That still left a lot of dirty, filthy mud that was clinging to every strand of fur on her body. Roxy had never felt this dirty before, and she hated it.   
  
But she was crying from hopelessness as well. It was as if the universe was throwing everything it could at her to prove that she didn't belong out here. She was tired and miserable, cold and wet, frightened and in pain. She wondered why she even bothered trying to survive out here, because she knew in her heart that she _couldn't_.  
  
Roxy sat there crying in the rain and the mud for quite a while. Makari kept hugging her and trying to speak soothing words to her, but her anguish would not be abated. Finally, after a while, Makari managed to convince her to get to her paws and come inside of his hut. Tears were still streaming from her eyes, and she sat down as soon as she was inside, but at least she was finally out of the rain.  
  
The little Pikachu sat there in her pool of misery, raising up a paw to wipe her tears before realizing too late that it was still covered with mud. This only brought about more tears.  
  
Makari disappeared briefly, but he soon returned carrying something in his paws. Roxy finally felt a small reconnection with the world around her when she felt something drape across her back. Sniffling, she lifted her head and looked back. Makari had brought in what looked to be a 'sheet' that was made of woven grass and leaves. When he started rubbing it across her back, she realized that it was a sort of towel.  
  
"Do you feel better now that you are out of the rain?" Makari asked in his soothing voice.  
  
Roxy hiccupped as the tears returned to her, just as powerful as ever.  
  
"Roxy…Please stop…" Makari spoke, a hint of sadness in his voice, "You are fine. It is only mud, it will not hurt you."  
  
"I wanna go home!!" Roxy suddenly wailed.  
  
Makari stopped moving the towel for a moment, and Roxy grabbed her tail and started to hug it. "I wanna go home! I want my master!!" It felt as if the hole in her heart had been ripped open even wider. She quivered as she cried, collapsing onto her side and clutching her tail as if it were her only source of comfort in the world.  
  
She felt the towel on her once more. "Roxy…I…." Makari spoke softly.  
  
A powerful tremble overcame the young Pikachu as a horrible, strangled whine escaped her throat. "I…I can't!" she half-shouted, "I can't do this! I can't handle this!" More sobbing filled the small hut. "I miss my home! I…I miss my house and my food…my books…my friends…a-and…I miss my _master_!!"  
  
Makari simply continued to dry her off. Soon, most of the thick clumps of mud had been removed from her. However, there was still a distinct layer of filth that clung to her fur and tinted her a dim shade of brown.  
  
"I wanna go home…" she whimpered, cuddling her tail, "I wanna go home…I wanna go home…"  
  
"I…Roxy, I do not know what to say…"  
  
Roxy curled herself up into a tight little ball of stress and sadness. She felt Makari sit down next to her, his fur gently brushing against hers. "This is too much!" she wailed, "I can't do it! I can't! I'm not a fighter! I never have been and I never will! I can't do all this crazy stuff Taka wants me to do!" She sniffled and then shouted, "I'm gonna _die_!"  
  
"You are not going to die," Makari said somewhat sternly.  
  
"I'll never go home!"  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
"I'll never see m-master ever again!"  
  
"Stop this…"  
  
However, it seemed nothing could dam the river of tears that flowed from her broken heart. She felt lost and alone, and scared out of her mind. She felt like a little baby Pichu that was lost deep in the Viridian Forest. She had tried her best to be brave, but at some point something had to give. There was no other word to describe how she felt other than 'defeated'.  
  
Roxy couldn't say anything else. The grief of such a bad day was just too much. She laid there and cried for a long time, unable to mend the pain she felt so deep inside. Makari sat with her the whole time, gently patting or stroking her. She was appreciative for his company, but even his unspeakably kind nature was not enough to pull her from the depths of utter despair.  
  
Eventually, she fell asleep.


	7. Enough

Morning arrived without any fanfare.  
  
Roxy struggled to wrench open her eyes. She felt sluggish, worn out and utterly devoid of motivation to get up. Her whole body felt like it weighed twice as much as usual. She moaned quietly in aggravation. Her limbs felt too stiff to move.  
  
The distressed little Pikachu sighed mournfully. It was another morning dawning on the hell that she was currently in. She wondered what she had to look forward to today, but none of the answers she thought of were any good. At least it sounded like it had stopped raining.  
  
Roxy lethargically forced herself to sit up. She had no idea what time it was, but why would she? There were no digital clocks in this Arceus-forsaken place. She felt uncomfortable and brought up her paws to scratch her fur, discovering to her dismay that she was still coated in dried mud.  
  
She sat there for a few moments like a lump on a log, trying to wake herself up. It was surprisingly difficult, despite what she could only imagine had to have been a long night's sleep. It took her a few moments to completely shake the sleepiness from her eyes.  
  
Makari's hut was there to greet her, the morning light shining in from the doorway. Makari himself was nowhere to be seen, making her sigh wistfully once more.  
  
Roxy couldn't remember the last time she had cried like that. It was something she didn't even want to look back upon, because it reminded her of the pain that had been in her heart. She could remember rainy nights like those, crying her eyes out. The difference was that, before, her master had always been there to cuddle her and dry her tears.  
  
The hut's vines parted, and Roxy glanced up to see Makari entering. She gave him a small smile, her spirits lifting just a little bit upon seeing him, but mostly she still felt utterly 'defeated'. Her smile didn't have a very long lifespan.  
  
"Good morning," Makari said in a gentle voice.  
  
"G'morn…" Roxy mumbled back, glancing down at the floor for a moment.  
  
"Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Mnn…"  
  
Roxy sighed. She was starting to feel ashamed for how she had behaved yesterday, and even a little embarrassed. She glanced around awkwardly, fiddling with her paws and unsure of what to say.  
  
After a moment, Makari walked over and sat down right next to her. Roxy looked up at him in surprise briefly, smiled for a half-second, then glanced away. She honestly didn't know how to react. She was sorry for acting so upset before, yet she didn't feel any less upset at this point.  
  
"Here."  
  
Roxy glanced over in response to Makari's statement, seeing that he was offering one of his leaf pouches to her. She looked up at him for a moment before taking it in her paws. She then opened the flap and looked at what was inside.  
  
It was a fresh bushel of Leppa Berries. Just looking at them told her that they would taste exceptionally juicy and sweet, and there were quite a few crammed into the little pouch. She stared at them for a few silent seconds, her brow knitted slightly, and then she turned to look at Makari. Still, no words escaped her.  
  
"They are all for you," Makari said with a charming smile, "I remembered that they are your favourite."  
  
Roxy blinked. They _were_ her favourite fruit, bar none. She had only mentioned that to him once a few days ago. Even _she_ almost didn't remember saying it. She gazed down at the veritable feast of her favourite snack, staring in wonder for a few moments. Makari had remembered which ones were her favourite, and had obviously gone out at the crack of dawn to forage for them specifically, just to give them all to her.  
  
Finally, a warm smile appeared on Roxy's face. "Th…Thank you…" she whispered sincerely.  
  
Makari simply smiled and gestured for her to eat.  
  
Roxy placed the pouch on the ground and took out one of the berries, which she brought to her mouth and took a bite out of. The wondrous, indescribably amazing flavour spilled forth from the berry like a geyser of splendour. Leppa Berries tasted _so_ good, but these were exceptional. Makari had not only foraged specifically for Leppas, but the _best_ Leppas.  
  
"Thank you…" she repeated after she had finished the amazing berry, "This is so nice of you…"  
  
"You deserve them," Makari replied, "After a rough day, it is nice to enjoy one's favourites and indulge."  
  
Roxy quickly but cleanly devoured another one, noting that it tasted just as amazing as the first. "These are so good…Y-you really didn't have to do this for me…"  
  
"Of course I did," he replied simply.  
  
Roxy sighed yet again. She felt him place one of his forelegs across her shoulder, and she briefly glanced over and locked eyes with him for a moment. Then, she picked up one more berry and ate it, which finally satisfied her stomach.  
  
"You did not answer me."  
  
She turned to look at him again. "Hm?"  
  
"Are you feeling better?"  
  
Roxy's expression turned downcast. "I…I dunno…" she muttered, "I'm sorry for-"  
  
"Roxy, please," Makari interjected, "Do not apologize for your emotions."  
  
She was silent for a few moments as she stared at nothing. Finally, she spoke up. "I hate the rain."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "I hate it so much. I can't stand being in it. It started to rain and I wanted to come inside, but Taka made me stay there and practice his stupid lessons."  
  
Makari didn't reply to that.  
  
"And then when I finally thought I was free, I go and slip in the…" Roxy trailed off.  
  
"It seemed like everything was piling up, crushing you beneath its weight?"  
  
Roxy cast him a curious look and then softly nodded.  
  
"I believe we all have days like that, even the strongest of us."  
  
The young Pikachu shuffled uncomfortably. "I mean…If you're asking if I feel better, then…I don't think I can say 'yes'."  
  
"Hm…Even if that is so, I am sure the feeling will not last forever."  
  
Roxy was silent.  
  
"Right?"  
  
Still, she said nothing.  
  
"You will be fine," he said, giving her a comforting squeeze, "I will talk to Taka and the Wise Ones and see if you can skip training just for today."  
  
"I still want to go home."  
  
Out the corner of her eye, as she was looking down at the ground, she saw Makari turn and give her a look.  
  
"I don't want to be here," she said, her voice even and almost emotionless, "I want to go home to my master."  
  
For a few minutes, an uncomfortable silence hung over the small hut. Neither moved or said anything more for a short while, until Roxy turned to her side and handed the pouch back to Makari. "Thank you so much for the Leppa berries," she said, adopting a small smile, "I…I _really_ appreciate it."  
  
Makari's warm smile returned. "You are welcome, Roxy."  
  
Roxy then closed her eyes for a moment, exhaling slowly and trying to inject a bit of energy into herself. She didn't like the way she was feeling emotionally and resolved to change it if she could. She then opened her eyes and stood up on her hind paws, stretching her limbs as she did so.  
  
Makari stood up as well, slinging the pouch over his shoulder.  
  
Though she tried to completely relax herself, Roxy found her success limited. She took a few steps forward, but then stopped. With every movement of her body, she could _feel_ the filthy state of her fur. She raised up her forepaws to look at the dried mud that was still caked across much of her fur, and she felt utterly disgusted.  
  
Makari must have heard her soft moan of distress, because he spoke up. "If you wish to clean your fur, then you can bathe in the river. Part of it cuts into our territory not far from the village."  
  
Roxy looked up, eyes wide.   
  
He must have deduced what she was thinking because he chuckled softly. "Not _that_ part of the river," he clarified, "It is not far from the village. Would you like me to show you?"  
  
"Oh…" Roxy considered this, looking down at her sullied fur once more. "Okay," she replied, "That sounds nice." She allowed a small smile to grow. Roxy felt that getting herself clean wouldn't fix any of her problems, but it would undoubtedly make her feel a lot better.   
  
Once again, Makari wore that charming smile of his. "Sure. Come with me."  
  
Roxy gazed after him for a moment as he walked out of the hut. The way he would always smile at her just exemplified the fact that he was probably the friendliest individual she had ever met. It was gentle and caring, no matter what the circumstances. She almost had to remind herself that he was an accomplished warrior as well.  
  
Makari led her outside and around the back of the hut. Roxy subconsciously tried to avoid being seen in her dirty, unkempt state. If nothing else, it was embarrassing. Luckily, it wasn't long before they stepped past the last couple of huts and left most of the villagers behind.  
  
A brief jolt ran up her spine when she suddenly became aware of the fact that they were _leaving_ the village. For a moment, she felt like she had crossed into deadly territory where death was waiting behind every tree. However, not long afterwards, they passed by an armed Pikachu walking nearby. A minute or so later, they saw another one. Roxy was immediately calmed when she realized that they had left the village, but hadn't left the Clan's territory, and so their presence and their _defences_ were still around.  
  
They didn't have to travel too far from the village before Makari came to a stop. Roxy walked up next to him and looked ahead. "There, straight ahead," he proclaimed with a point of his paw.  
  
Roxy peered through the trees until she saw the thin, slow-moving river cutting through the forest ahead. It was still at least 50 metres ahead of them, and it was the only visible feature that broke up the endless monotony of trees.  
  
"The river is calm at this point, and our territory extends beyond the opposite side," Makari explained to her, "Many of our brethren come here to bathe, but it looks unoccupied right now."  
  
"Oh, okay," Roxy said and flashed him a grateful smile.  
  
"Feel free to go right ahead," he continued, "I will not be far away."  
  
Roxy nodded, but then turned and gave him a confused look. "What…? Aren't…you coming with me?" A tiny tremble slipped into her voice at the end of her question. Was Makari really suggesting that she go somewhere in this forest… _alone_?  
  
Makari's eyes widened just a fraction as he looked back down at her, then he chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. "No, no, Roxy," he said, "It is not proper to be in the company of a…" He glanced away and cleared his throat. "…of a female while she is bathing."  
  
Roxy blinked, glanced over towards the river, and then back to Makari. Her cheeks turned just the slightest hint of red. "O-oh," she stammered, looking away, "Right. Yes. That makes sense."  
  
"You have nothing to worry about," Makari said, "and if you need help, then just yell. I will be near here, and there are patrolling warriors all around. Predators will run into us before they even see you."  
  
Upon hearing the word 'predators', Roxy gulped. However, Makari's statements actually were reassuring to her. Even if they wouldn't be right by her side, she would feel safe knowing that they were nearby guarding her. A moment later, she nodded and grinned. "Okay, Makari. Thank you for this."  
  
Roxy then made her way over to the riverbed. Her pace started out normal, but slowed down as she went. She was walking through the woods all by herself, something she hadn't done since running from the Aggron. She knew there were Thunder Clan members nearby, but she couldn't see any of them. Turning around, she couldn't even see Makari anymore. Was he hiding behind a tree so as to avert his gaze?  
  
Either way, she made it to the side of the river without issue. She could feel clouds of anxiety building in the back of her mind, but they were distant and she didn't let them get to her. She told herself that she wouldn't be in the river for very long anyway. One glance down at her muddy fur was all the further persuasion she needed.  
  
Roxy carefully leaned forward and dipped one of her hind paws in. She yelped in surprise and hissed at how cold the water was. It certainly wasn't freezing or anything, but it was still rather nippy. She stuck her paw in once more and kept it there, exhaling as she adjusted to the temperature. It was autumn, so the waters were bound to be a little cold.  
  
Slowly but surely, she lowered her whole self into the slow-moving water. The edge of the river was fairly shallow. The water came right up to her neck if she sat down. She undid her collar and removed her flower, placing both on the river bank.  
  
"What I wouldn't give for a hot tub…" she mumbled, still getting used to the chilly water. As she glanced down, however, she could already see some of the mud washing off of her fur. This would be worth it, no matter how cold it was.  
  
With no rags or sponges, she got to work in scrubbing the mud out with her paws. It took some doing, but soon the mud started coming off. By the time she had cleaned both of her forelimbs, she had gotten used to the water.  
  
Roxy allowed a smile to appear as she continued to wash herself. The gentle, constant flowing of the river felt kind of nice. It wasn't strong enough to pull her forward, but it was still moving. Sitting down on the riverbed in this current felt somewhat therapeutic. It was like a gentle massage.  
  
The young Pikachu sighed. This was actually turning out to be quite nice. Sure, it wouldn't beat bath time with her master, and it _really_ wouldn't beat the hot tub they had back at home, but it was pleasant in its own ways. Roxy could feel herself relaxing as she scrubbed her hind legs and tail clean.  
  
With her lower half free of the mud, Roxy took a moment to pause and unwind. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to just focus on the movement of the water. It was gentle and soothing. It was also constant and unending, a consistent stream of moving water that did not and would not stop. If she had sat there for the next 12 hours, this constant flow would not change. In this world of chaos and uncertainty that she found herself in, the stability of this river had a peculiar calming effect on her addled mind.  
  
She then got back to work, washing off her neck and shoulders. The only thing left was her head, and that meant dunking her head underwater. This would surely be quite cold, but Roxy knew that the best way to do it was to dunk her whole head at once. So, that is just what she did.  
  
After a quick inhale, she pitched herself forward and sunk her whole head beneath the water's surface. For a couple of seconds, it was mind-numbingly cold. Then, however, her head caught up to the rest of her body and the water felt comfortable. Roxy kept herself there for a few more seconds, holding her breath, and then opened her eyes. There wasn't much to see except the rocky bottom of the river's deep middle.   
  
With a splash, she resurfaced and took in a breath of fresh air. Drops of water flung off the tips of her ears from the motion. She let out a breath of satisfaction and then quickly worked her paws to get those last patches of mud out of the fur on her head.   
  
In doing so she ended up massaging the electric sacs in her cheeks, a therapeutic act for a Pikachu. Even doing it to herself made her relax and unwind even more. Her ears were the last thing to clean off, and once that was done she sat back in the water and sighed in relief.  
  
Finally, she was clean once again. Her fur felt fresh and almost silky, despite the complete lack of Poké conditioner, and at last she no longer felt bogged down by the upsetting sensation of being covered in mud. Truly, she did feel refreshed.  
  
Roxy shuffled back to the riverbank and just sat there for a few moments, her body sinking into the river's waters as if she were falling asleep in the hot tub. She could feel drops and streams of water running down the fur on her face and dripping off of her ears. Slowly, her mind began to clear. She almost felt like the current of the river was picking up all of her worries and simply carrying them away.  
  
The world around seemed to fade away. The lulling sensation of the river's current became constant and familiar, until it almost felt like something normal to her. It eased the aches in her joints and the bruises on her limbs. The river didn't seem cold at all anymore.   
  
Time passed.  
  
More time passed.   
  
A warm smile was plastered across her face as she lounged in the river, letting her cares wash away. Her fur was clean, the mud was gone, and all seemed right in the world once more. She almost started to forget where she was.   
  
"Five muh minutes…" she mumbled softly.  
  
Roxy's ear twitched, but she ignored it. It twitched a second time, and she forced herself to open her eyes. Another twitch, but this time she knew why. She could hear something. It had sounded like a twig or a branch breaking.  
  
She glanced over at a bush on the other side of the river, spotting what had made the noise only half a second before it moved. Roxy barely had time to widen her eyes and open her mouth to scream before the Mightyena pounced out of the bush and clear across the river.  
  
Instinct took over and made Roxy frantically scramble back up the riverbank and onto the shore. An instant later, there was a big splash as the predator slammed down into the shallows with its sharp claws extended. It had missed her by a hair's length.  
  
Soaking wet and completely panicking, Roxy finally managed to scream. However, she found herself in an awkward position on her back and could only manage to shuffle backwards along the ground as the Mightyena quickly recovered from its faceplant and climbed out of the river.  
  
"Makari! _Makari!!_ " Roxy shouted in blood-curdling desperation, trying desperately to get away from the much larger creature.   
  
The Mightyena was glaring down at her, teeth barred, and ready to pounce. She could see drool dripping from its mouth and hunger in its eyes. Her heart skipped about ten different beats as a blinding, white panic overtook her entire body.  
  
"Help!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, " _Aaaaahh!!!_ "  
  
Pain erupted as a claw dug its way a little bit into one of her thighs, but instantly after the air was filled with a loud, high-pitched yelp. Roxy felt blood trickle down her leg, but no longer felt the claw.  
  
She realized that she had her eyes closed and forced herself to open them so she could see what had happened. The Mightyena was no longer in front of her. Instead, it was lying on its side to her left, a long spear partially embedded in its shoulder.  
  
Seconds later, a warrior Pikachu landed in between her and the predator. He was in a battle ready stance, sparks flying from his cheeks. The Mightyena was already starting to get up, despite its puncture wound, but the Pikachu didn't give it much chance. With a mighty war cry, striking bolts of electricity were unleashed. They lanced through the air at blinding speed, striking the Mightyena and causing it to howl in pain.  
  
"Roxy!!"  
  
The urgent shout was enough to divert her attention. Roxy glanced back over her shoulder, where she saw Makari standing a couple yards away and another Pikachu rushing to join the fight with the Mightyena. She quickly looked back towards the predator. It was trying to fight back against the Pikachu, but the warrior was much too fast and agile for it.  
  
Finally, Roxy's brain clicked into action and she scrambled to her paws. She limped slightly from her injury, but nonetheless ran as fast as she could back to Makari. Her heart was thumping a thousand times a minute, pure panic written on her face.  
  
When she reached Makari, she threw herself into his arms and clutched him as tightly as she could. She buried her face into his shoulder, quivering like a leaf and weeping in fear. Without a second's hesitation, he brought his paws around to hug her back, holding her tightly in a secure embrace to keep her away from the danger.  
  
Makari said nothing, while Roxy simply cried and tried to hide herself away from the evil predator. Her mind was going wild. She was breathing rapidly and shivering uncontrollably. The amount of fear she was feeling had skyrocketed off of the charts, and only Makari's protective embrace was there to keep her from having a total panic attack. She heard the sounds of battle from behind her, but refused to look.  
  
Finally, after a definitive _thump_ of something falling to the ground, the sounds of fighting ceased. From what it sounded like, the Mightyena had been knocked out. Roxy's behaviour, however, didn't change. She clutched onto Makari so tightly as if she were hanging off of a cliff. She cried like a terrified little cub, soaking his fur with her tears. The whole time, Makari simply stood there silent and unmoving. He was like a statue of security that she could hang onto.  
  
Roxy was shaken right to her core. She had never been more afraid in her whole life, not even when the Zangoose had been attacking her. The Mightyena had taken her completely by surprise and had attacked during a moment of vulnerability. She had been relaxing and not paying attention to her surroundings, and had come within inches of paying for it with her life.  
  
Even as she held her eyes shut, she kept seeing the menacing visage of the vicious predator. She could feel its claw digging into her flesh, and she felt phantom pains as if it had done worse.   
  
"…Roxy?"  
  
Makari's voice was soft and soothing, whispered quietly in her ear. Still, Roxy had not managed to slow her breathing or the pumping of her heart. Liquid fear had replaced the blood in her veins and she could not rid herself of it.  
  
"Hnh…?" she squeaked out in response.  
  
"It is gone."  
  
Makari started to slowly, gently rub her back with his paw.  
  
"You are safe now."  
  
All Roxy could do was shake her head and continue trying to hide herself away from the frightening outside world.   
  
"Roxy…"  
  
The two remained like that for as long as it took for Roxy's nerves to finally calm down, though Roxy had no idea how long that had been. It seemed like an endless onslaught of frightening images and memories were playing out in her mind, and her body was locked in a state of agitation. The whole time, Makari remained by her side and gently stroked her back.  
  
When her body finally decided it had panicked for long enough, she found herself taking deep breaths and ever so slowly feeling her heartrate return to normal. Eventually, she found the courage to raise her head so that she was looking over Makari's shoulder. She remained there for a few minutes, just breathing and staring off at nothing.  
  
Rational thought started to return to her, reminding her that she had been standing there for goodness knows how long and nothing had tried to kill her. Makari was right. She was safe now. She took in one more deep breath and let it out slowly.  
  
A quiet groan of exhaustion slipped from her throat. She was still shivering a little, and the memory of what had happened still made her feel quite distressed.   
  
"Roxy?"  
  
Her ears perked up at the sound of Makari's voice. Though she had been hugging Makari for the entire time, it was at that time she truly became aware that she was _hugging_ him. His coarse fur was brushing up against hers. She could feel it with every little movement either of them made. The Static dancing on his fur made her feel the slightest bit tingly. His forelegs were wrapped around her back and she could just _feel_ how strong they were. They truly did make her feel like she was in a secure place.  
  
"I…" she spoke in a hoarse voice, blushing slightly at her ostentatious disregard of personal space. She then glanced down at her own paws that were wrapped around _his_ back. Her eyes shot open wide as she saw how tightly her paws were clenching at his fur.  
  
"Oh gosh!" she exclaimed, releasing her grip, "I…I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."  
  
Makari chuckled dismissively, but she was sure she could hear a hint of relief in his voice. "You need not worry about it, Roxy."  
  
"I hope I didn't hurt you," she said, moving away from the embrace so she could look him in the eye.  
  
" _Me_?" he asked, incredulous, "It is you that I should be concerned about." His gaze shifted down to her thigh, now tainted with streaks of dried blood. "Are you badly hurt?"  
  
She glanced down at it as well, feeling her anxiety spike as the sight of the wound dug up memories of the event. "I…N-no, not really…"  
  
"Miri will tend to your injury."  
  
Roxy nodded, and then glanced away. Makari was no longer hugging her, but she was still frightened to her very core. She already missed that sensation of security.  
  
"Here," he said in a compassionate tone, "Let me bring you back to my hut. You can rest there."  
  
Roxy remained wordless for a moment, but then nodded as he moved to help her walk. "Okay…Th-thanks…"  
  
They both remained in relative silence as Makari moved her back to the hut. Moving through the woods back towards the village made her quiver in fear even more. If Makari hadn't been helping her walk, she probably would have been rooted to the spot from pure terror. She had stopped panicking, but it also felt like panic was right on the horizon again anyways.  
  
Finally they reached Makari's hut, and Makari helped her to lay down on one of the beds. Because of the attack, Makari needed to go do some things which included talking to the Wise Ones. At Roxy's insistence, a strong Pikachu was left to guard the door while he was gone.  
  
Roxy sighed mournfully and squeezed her tail as she lay down in the hut. She was no longer panicking and felt a lot safer within the walls of Makari's hut, but she was still very much upset. She felt jumpy and filled with anxiety. Try as she might, she could not get her mind off of the terrifying event that had just befallen her.  
  
Her heart still beat like mad every time she imagined the sight of the Mightyena leaping across the river, coming within inches of ending her life. Any small sense of safety or security that she had gained was gone now.   
  
When Makari returned, she wasted no time in scurrying over and hugging him. She no longer felt embarrassed about it. She was simply too frightened and didn't want to be alone.  
  
"I am happy that you are safe," Makari spoke softly.  
  
"M-Makari…"  
  
The taller Pikachu sighed. "I have been told that one of our brethren that was on patrol had gotten distracted. This created a hole in our defence that, unfortunately, led straight to you."   
  
Roxy glanced up at him.  
  
"I am sorry."  
  
She shook her head. "I…I'm just glad you were there to…to…"  
  
Shivers overcame her as she fell silent. Makari's words only reminded her of the dangers that dwelled within this forest. The vicious creatures lurking outside who wanted her for a meal, and who were keeping her from finding a way home.  
  
"Here," he continued, "I retrieved your accessories."  
  
She glanced down briefly to see that he was holding her collar and her flower, bringing her a small sense of relief.  
  
"Roxy, you can be calm now," Makari said in a reassuring voice as he dropped the items to the floor, "The danger is over."  
  
Yet, Roxy knew that it wasn't. Again she shook her head. "I…I thought I was…" She gulped and quivered.  
  
"Hm?" Makari said, "Thought you were what?"  
  
"…safe."  
  
The hut fell silent. Roxy felt herself dwell on that notion, making the world around her seem to grow dark and ominous. It was true that she had considered the Thunder Clan's village a safe haven, and Makari's reassuring words to her had extended the boundaries of that safe haven to at least include the river. Having been attacked like this, so close to the village and with Pikachu warriors so close by, it changed everything.  
  
Even the village itself didn't feel safe anymore.  
  
"I am sorry," Makari repeated, "I told you something that was not true."  
  
"No, no…I don't blame you, Makari…" she spoke in a whisper, "No, I…I owe you my life _twice_ now…"  
  
"I…" Makari sighed and glanced away. She could hear in his voice that he was troubled about something. "I wish that I could tell you this was a rare, isolated incident."  
  
Roxy's ears fell flat and she silently whined in fear.  
  
"It is dangerous in the forest, Roxy," he continued, "I am afraid that there is no changing that."  
  
"I'm scared, Makari…"  
  
"I know…" He gently stroked her back.  
  
"I…I don't know if I…I…"  
  
"Roxy, I will do my best to protect you," Makari spoke, "…but…"  
  
She just kept staring off at nothing.  
  
"…Roxy?"  
  
Still, she said nothing.  
  
"Please, Roxy…Tell me what is on your mind."  
  
Roxy considered this question for a couple of minutes, trying to decide what her answer would be. After time had passed in silence, however, she simply found herself slowly shaking her head. "I…I don't know…" she whispered, "I just don't know anymore…"  
  
She moved back from the hug a little and looked into Makari's eyes.  
  
"This…This isn't who I am, Makari…"  
  
Makari sighed. "I know, Roxy. Unfortunately, life is never kind."  
  
"I just…" She glanced away. "Sometimes I feel like I'm already dead…Like I'm going to die no matter which path I choose, and it's just a waiting game…"  
  
"Well," Makari replied, "you should not think like that. Survival is a challenge, but it is not a fantasy."  
  
"Maybe it is for me…"  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
The two fell into silence once more. Honestly, Roxy was starting to feel too depressed to talk. There were so many things swirling around inside of her frantic little mind that it was sapping away all of her strength. Few words were said for the remainder of the day, and dinner was eaten in relative silence. Makari tried his best to offer encouragement, but Roxy was just too troubled.  
  
Eventually the night arrived, and Roxy unceremoniously laid down in her bed and tried to go to sleep. Unsurprisingly, sleep did not come to her. Thoughts rattled around in her brain nonstop, and eventually she had to sit up. She glanced over at Makari, hearing his quiet snoring that indicated he was fast asleep.  
  
Roxy got up and walked over to the hut's doorway, parting the veil of leaves slightly and sitting in front of the opening. With worried eyes, she glanced up at the moon shining brightly through the trees.  
  
"Master…?" she whispered, as if the moon could somehow take her words all the way to Vermillion City for her master to hear. Roxy waited for a response, but obviously none came.  
  
Her ears fell and she frowned. "What would you do…?" she whispered, "What would you tell me to do?" She could feel tears burning in her eyes and tried to blink them away. "I hope you're okay…"  
  
Roxy felt utterly hopeless. Everything was going poorly and the chances of her continued survival seemed to be shrinking. She was starting to give up hope that she would ever see her home again, considering how difficult it was staying put in this forest much less moving through it. It seemed as if the village of the Thunder Clan was to be her new home.  
  
The thought brought forth tears. There was nothing wrong with the Thunder Clan or its village. The majority of the Pokémon here were really friendly, and the village was somewhat comfortable to live in.   
  
But, it wasn't home to her. Her master wasn't here with her. Above all else, though, it was dangerous.  
  
She shook her head. It wasn't dangerous, it was _deadly_.  
  
Her mind kept going back to the Mightyena. Still, she felt shaken right to her core. It was as if some important rule had been broken, and now nothing made sense.   
  
"There's danger…everywhere…"  
  
Roxy stared down at the ground beneath her, a troubled look on her face. Makari had told her before that the village was the safest place for her. Yet, he had never claimed it to be _perfectly_ safe. The reason predators stayed away was because of the patrol, and the patrol was run by Pokémon. No Pokémon is perfect. Mistakes were bound to happen.  
  
"Master isn't here…Master can't protect me…This is the _real_ world…"  
  
The reason that these Pikachu and other Electric-types survived was because they were fighters, trained from cubhood, and that was a quality that simply didn't apply to her. Makari and the others could do their best, but sooner or later this handicap was going to cost her dearly.  
  
Roxy wanted nothing more than to just go home. She wanted to get up and march right through the forest until she found humanity. She couldn't do that, though. It was impossible for her. Without the protection of the Thunder Clan, she would be killed within a day. Their skills and training were all that were keeping her alive right now. _That_ was a thought that truly made her shiver.  
  
She wanted to go home. She wanted to leave this place.   
  
"I…I need to get out of here…"  
  
Slowly, Roxy curled up on the ground in front of the door. It was uncomfortable, but she was too troubled to find the energy to return to her bed. Her situation was bad and it had only grown worse. Hope was dwindling that she would ever see her home again, and she knew she had to fight and hold onto that hope.  
  
Roxy's eyes only drifted closed after she came to a decision. It was not an easy one to make, and she was sure that it would lead to many hardships, but it was something that she had to do. In the end, she realized that there was just no other option.  
  
Sleep, at that moment, was a welcome gift.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy awoke at the crack of dawn. In fact, she had opened her eyes a few minutes _before_ the sun had breached the horizon. She yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed but not feeling like she'd had a proper night's sleep. She glanced over towards the middle of the hut, seeing that Makari was still sleeping.  
  
She took a moment for herself, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her nerves. This was going to be difficult, it wasn't going to be fun, and she could very well get hurt in the process. After a moment, though, she got to her paws. This was her only option.  
  
Roxy strolled through the village, cast in the shadows of the early morning. A few Pokémon were already up, while some of them looked like they had been up for hours. Roxy surmised that they were part of the night patrol or something.  
  
She couldn't help herself from feeling like a tight, bundle of nerves. Every instinct in her body was telling her to turn around, go back to Makari's hut, and hide in the corner. However, she merely shook her head and cast those thoughts aside.  
  
If she wanted to get home, this was something that she had to do.  
  
She tried to walk with a confident stride, but it was not easy to force herself to be determined. A small but very frightened part of her brain told her that what she was doing would eventually end up killing her. She ignored this and pushed herself forward until she reached her destination.  
  
Roxy gazed around the corner. She saw that Taka was there, as she had expected him to be. Taka immediately glanced up upon her intrusion. He looked at her with a mix of question and contempt, though he certainly did not bother to stand up.   
  
"Taka?"  
  
He merely raised an eyebrow.  
  
Roxy took a quick, calming breath and let it out slowly. She then stepped forward, entering the training area with Taka watching her every move. After a moment of silence, she bent down and picked up one of the blunt, wooden training spears. She then stood up, gripped it as she thought she was meant to, and turned to look at Taka with a hard gaze.  
  
"Train me."


	8. Stepping Up

Taka narrowed his gaze and simply said, "What?"  
  
Roxy remained steadfast. "Please, train me to fight." She took a deep breath and then added, "I am ready to learn."  
  
Once again, Taka arched an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, "Is that so?"  
  
Roxy nodded.  
  
"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"  
  
She sighed and lowered the blunt spear. "You know I was attacked yesterday?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"It was very frightening," she spoke, "I went out into a dangerous place, let my guard down, and nearly paid for it with my life."  
  
Taka scoffed, but Roxy ignored him.  
  
"I guess I just realized how little choice I have in the matter. I don't know how I got here or why it happened, but I'm here. It's dangerous here. I…I might not be happy about it, but…this is something I _need_ to do, isn't it?"  
  
She glanced over at Taka. The warrior was giving her a scrutinizing gaze, but after a few moments of silence he didn't say a single word.  
  
"Taka," Roxy continued, "I want to go home. I want to leave this place and find my way home. Last night I realized…that if I want to get out of here and make it through the dangers of the forest, I need to know how to fight…"  
  
She paused, but then added something else. "Mostly, though…I just want to survive long enough to even _try_ to get home…."  
  
Still, Taka was looking at her but not saying anything. She looked right back at him. Honestly, she wasn't sure if he was being his usual, aloof self or if he really didn't care about what she was saying.  
  
"So…Will you teach me?" Roxy asked.  
  
No response.  
  
"Do you… _want_ to teach me?"  
  
Finally, Taka opened his mouth. "I have been instructed to teach you. I have been _challenged_ to teach you. No, I do not _want_ to teach you."  
  
Roxy paused for a moment before replying. "But…you will?"  
  
"Will I?"  
  
A displeased frown covered her features.  
  
"What if I said 'no'?"  
  
Roxy opened her mouth to respond, but then paused and took a moment to think about her answer. She then nodded in determination and said, "I would ask someone else, like Makari."  
  
He gave her another scrutinizing gaze. "I see…" he said slowly. After taking a few steps towards her, he shook his head. "Your words tell the story of renewed vigour and encouragement, but what hides behind that bravado? At the end of the day, you are still a _pet_!"  
  
Upon speaking the last word, Taka quickly bent down and twirled himself around. This brought his tail around in a circle, catching the back of Roxy's paws and pulling them out from under her. She tumbled to the ground onto her back.  
  
"You see? Y-"  
  
Taka's words caught in his throat as he suddenly found himself holding onto the end of Roxy's blunt spear with one of his paws, stopping it from impacting him in the midsection. Roxy had aggressively swung it the moment she had landed on the ground, and Taka had almost missed his opportunity to stop it.  
  
The warrior looked down in mild surprise. Roxy stared back up at him. The two regarded one another silently for a moment, and then Taka wrenched the spear from Roxy's paws and tossed it aside.  
  
"I still see fear in your eyes," he commented.  
  
"Of course there is," she countered, "I'm terrified! But…"  
  
"But it is masked by the fire of determination…"  
  
Roxy got to her feet. "I'm sorry for not trying very hard before. You didn't want to train me and I didn't want to be trained, but you did it anyway. Now I've realized that I _need_ this. I need to learn how to survive out here. It's the only way…I'll get home."  
  
Taka had been listening to her with a slight hint of interest, but her last couple of words made him scowl again. "Back to your _master_?" he spat.  
  
She wanted to lash out at him for speaking of her master in such a poisonous tone, but instead she merely nodded.  
  
Taka glanced away, looking as if he were in thought. "Very well," he said at last, "If you can show me that you have learned how to do _one_ thing today that I have taught you, then you may have potential after all."  
  
Roxy nodded. "I'll do my best," she said, "But, Taka! You _have_ to be a little more patient with me. I'm still a beginner. I want to learn, but you have to go a little slower and, I dunno, maybe don't spar off against me until I'm further along?"  
  
He turned and gave her an unreadable look, then walked back towards the centre of the training area without saying another word.  
  
She sighed in frustration and spoke under her breath. "Worth a try, I guess…"  
  
Taka turned his head to regard her.   
  
"I'm ready!" she said, filling her voice with enthusiasm. Her words were followed up, however, by loud grumbling from her stomach.  
  
"Have you not eaten breakfast yet?" Taka asked with a hint of incredulity.  
  
Roxy glanced down at her tummy, then back up.  
  
Taka rolled his eyes and then waved his paw at her. "Go eat," he commanded, "I need to eat as well. There is no sense training on an empty stomach." Once again not waiting for a response, Taka then turned and marched off towards the village centre, leaving her behind.  
  
She waited for a few more seconds, then let out the breath she had been holding. Shivers coursed through her body and her eyes were wide open in shock. The anxiety-ridden part of her brain was demanding to know what the _hell_ she had just gotten herself into.  
  
Her breath came in short gasps as her façade of bravado fell away. She was actually impressed that she had managed to stave off anxiety and put on a brave face for that long. Now, of course, she was left questioning every single life choice she had ever made that had led her to this point in time.  
  
Roxy felt the urge to cry, but she shook her head and pushed her tears away. Last night, she had made a promise to herself that she would push herself and go through with this training. Her life had completely changed, as unfortunate as it was to admit, and her choices were to either get stronger or be killed.  
  
If Roxy ever wanted to see her master again, then there wasn't an alternative.  
  
Her stomach rumbled again, reminding her of what Taka had just said. No training on an empty stomach. Roxy was actually a little surprised that Taka had shown leniency in this regard.  
  
She took a deep breath and turned around to walk back to the hut, only to find Makari approaching her.  
  
"There you are!" he said, hurrying over to her, "I was worried."  
  
Roxy frowned and flushed in embarrassment. "S-sorry…" she mumbled, "There was just something I needed to do, and…I knew that I couldn't hesitate."  
  
Makari glanced up at their surroundings and then back down at her. "Oh…I see," he said with a nod, seeming to have grasped the situation from context alone.  
  
"I promised I would go through with this…"  
  
Makari smiled compassionately. "Well, if that is the case, then I am proud of you. It was easy to see how difficult training like this was for you."  
  
She sighed. "It's not gonna get any easier…but I have to…"  
  
"Oh, I do not think that is true. You might be surprised."  
  
Roxy glanced up at him, unsure if she believed his words.   
  
"This may go without saying, but are you feeling better Roxy?"  
  
She nodded. "I think so…It's just been so crazy." She then smiled at him. "Thanks for, y'know…being there."  
  
Chuckling, he replied, "Think nothing of it." He then glanced around once more and said, "Where is Taka anyway?"  
  
"He went to get breakfast. You wouldn't happen to have any berries in there, would you?" Roxy said, pointing at Makari's pouch.  
  
"I had a feeling you might be hungry," he said, lifting the top of his pouch to reveal Pecha Berries inside.  
  
Roxy's eyes sparkled upon seeing the delectable fruit. "Wow…" she whispered, "How do you keep finding berries like these?"  
  
Makari winked. "The forest is full of fruit like this, if you know where to look."  
  
The two Pikachu sat down just outside the training area and feasted on a breakfast of Pechas. They shared some light conversation about a variety of topics, which eventually led to Roxy discussing her lingering anxiety regarding her training. Though she voiced her fears, she would always bolster herself up and reinforce her self-made promise to go through with it. All she needed to do was remind herself of the consequences.  
  
"How can I make him slow down, though?" she asked her companion, "He usually goes so fast that I can't learn anything…"  
  
Makari shrugged. "I think perhaps he may slow down if he sees you truly apply yourself."  
  
"Hmm…"  
  
The two heard pawsteps approaching and looked up, expecting to see the return of Taka. Instead, Roxy's ears perked up in surprise when she saw who it was.  
  
"Greetings Natoka and Karizu," Makari said with a curt nod.  
  
The two Raichu nodded as well, and then regarded Roxy. She jumped slightly. "Oh! Uh, h-hi! I mean, greetings!"  
  
Karizu smiled warmly, while Natoka merely acknowledged her with a nod. "It is nice to see you once again," the former said, "We have not had a chance to speak since you first arrived."  
  
"Yeah, I've been…busy."  
  
"Are you getting breakfast?" Makari asked.  
  
"We are sharing a meal with Miri," Natoka commented. Despite his comparatively serious outward appearance, there was still a friendly tone in his voice.  
  
"I am anxious to try her mixes again!" Karizu said with an excited look.  
  
Roxy watched this short exchange in fascination. It was true that she had not seen the Wise Ones since she had first met them, but here two of them were just casually strolling through the village. Combined with the way they conversed, it reminded her of who these Pokémon were and what sort of role they played in the village. Her mind still had a solid hold on the stereotype of "old, wise and aloof rulers".  
  
"How are you, young Rakasy?" Karizu said, turning his attention to her, "We have heard things, and not all of them good."  
  
"I'm…Well, I don't think I can say I'm 'fine', but…it's getting better. Maybe. It's all so confusing, I just dunno what to say…"  
  
"Her name is pronounced _Roxy_ ," Makari informed them.  
  
She blinked and looked over at him. Truthfully, she had hardly noticed Karizu mispronouncing her name this time, almost as if she'd gotten used to it. Even so, to hear Makari so nonchalantly correct them…  
  
" _Roxy_ , right," Karizu said, "That is how you introduced yourself, was it not? Please accept my pardon."  
  
"Eh heh…N-no worries, it's fine…"  
  
"That is from the human language, right?" Natoka spoke up.  
  
Roxy hesitated, unsure of the tone in his voice. "I…y-yeah," she said, deciding that there was no point in lying.  
  
"Taka can read the human language," Karizu commented as he turned to Natoka, "I wonder why he still calls her _Ro-ka-si_ …"  
  
Natoka replied in what was half a scoff, half a chuckle. "He is a strange one, never forget."  
  
"But, anyway…" Karizu continued, turning to look at her once more, "I hope that our brethren have been treating you relatively well. When we had heard that the Mightyena had attacked you, we were quite concerned. I trust that your training with Taka is progressing. It is important that you learn, at the very least, how to defend yourself."  
  
Roxy turned and glanced back at the training area for a moment, then turned her eyes back to the two Raichu. "It's a work in progress," she settled on saying, "Yesterday was an awakening…"  
  
Karizu nodded. "That is good to hear."  
  
"We should go," Natoka politely interrupted, "Miri is waiting for us."  
  
"Ah yes. We shall see you two again soon. Have a pleasant day!"  
  
The two Pikachu waved and said goodbye as the Raichu did the same and walked away. Roxy waved after them for a few seconds, but then something suddenly occurred to her. "Wait!" she shouted, unsure if they would hear her, "Taka knows the human language??"  
  
They didn't answer her, so she turned to Makari only to see Taka approaching from behind.  
  
"Are you ready?" Taka asked.  
  
"Uh," she replied, "I guess, but I was-"  
  
"I said, are you ready _pet_??"  
  
Roxy fell silent, and she remembered what Taka had told her about successfully learning something by the end of the training session. Like it or not, her questions would have to wait. She stood up to face him and then nodded.  
  
"Fine then," Taka said.  
  
"I will be here, Roxy," Makari said with a wave of encouragement.  
  
"Now," Taka spoke, "We will practice the-"  
  
"How 'bout I try the jump slash?" she interrupted, picking up one of the spears without the sharp rock on it, "I feel like that one's the closest I got to getting…"  
  
Taka gave her an incredulous look, and Roxy suddenly felt Butterfree in her stomach. She had thought that taking charge like this would show initiative, but looking at Taka now she was doubting herself.   
  
"Ngh…" Taka grumbled before sighing, "Tsk, fine. Show me what you remember."  
  
The warrior pointed to one of the targets, which Roxy approached while tightly gripping the training spear. It took all of her concentration to stop herself from quivering, but she could feel a sense of determination somewhere deep inside. She took a deep breath and recalled what she was meant to do for this exercise.  
  
The idea, she remembered, was to jump high into the air, and then turn the downward momentum of gravity into a swing or stab of the spear. It was fairly simple, so she could clearly picture how Taka had done it.  
  
Once she was ready, she didn't hesitate lest her anxiety catch up with her before it realized what she was doing. She focused on the wooden target and began to dash towards it as fast as she could on her hind legs. Once she was somewhat close to it, she deftly sprung off the ground and sailed through the air towards the target. Finally, when she thought the timing was right, she brought it down in a swing.  
  
Roxy shook her head as she sat up from being sprawled out on the ground. As with her previous attempts, she had ended up tumbling and falling down in the dirt. She glanced over at Taka, who was giving her an unimpressed and slightly exasperated look.  
  
In situations like this in the past, Roxy had done a number of things. She had cried and complained, begged Taka to stop or at least do something else, get frustrated, or just slowly get up and do it again. This time, however, she did something that she was sure would earn her some brownie points with her trainer.  
  
"What did I do wrong?"  
  
To her relief, Taka glanced over at her. This time, he looked intrigued.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy was happily munching on a Leppa Berry in a glade off to the side of the village. Makari was there with her, offering his congratulations. After quite a few hours of focusing, learning and retrying, Roxy had finally managed to perform the jump strike perfectly. The Leppa was her much-deserved reward.  
  
It hadn't been easy, and she had taken quite a few tumbles along the way. Each time she fell, she earned a new ache or bruise. Normally this would have made her upset, but after getting _mauled_ by two predators, it suddenly didn't seem to bother her much. Every time she felt like giving up, she just thought about her master and why doing this was necessary to see her again.  
  
She had experienced difficulty in gripping the blunt spear properly, and had dropped it a couple of times, plus it had taken her quite a bit to learn how to balance herself upon landing. The biggest obstacle, though, had been Taka's line of teaching. Despite her newfound attitude, he had gone back to his old ways of teaching. For a while there was little direction, quick frustration upon failure, and his insistence that they just try something else.  
  
Eventually, Roxy and Makari had teamed up to convince Taka to not switch lessons and just focus on this one. Taka had expressed his belief that she would 'never' get this, but Roxy had finally found the way to put her paw down. Following this, she slowly but surely improved, learning from every mistake she made. Before long, she had pulled off the perfect jump strike.  
  
"I always knew you could do it, Roxy," Makari said, patting her on the back.  
  
"How? You've only known me for like three days or something…" Roxy said with a laugh.  
  
"I could tell…" he replied enigmatically, "There was just something I saw in you…Despite your delicate exterior, I never saw you in the way that Taka does."  
  
If Taka had been impressed by Roxy's success, he hid it well. Roxy remembered feeling her paws hit the ground and not tumbling over. She had held herself there for a moment, afraid to move for fear of messing it up. "Did…Did I do it?" she had asked.  
  
Taka had just stood there looking at her for a while, and so Makari had been the one to inform her of her victory. After a minute or so, Taka's stoic nature finally broke. He gave her a subtle nod. It wasn't much, but Roxy got the feeling it meant, 'Acceptable. You did it right.' By that time, the lesson was drawing to a close as Taka had patrol duty. However, as he walked off into the forest, they had both heard him say something over his shoulder.  
  
"See you tomorrow morning. Do not be late."  
  
She had proven herself to him, even if just a little bit. Taka was going to keep training her. She would learn how to fight, be able to defend herself from danger, and learn how to survive in this unforgiving wilderness. Then, hopefully, she would be able to find a way back home.  
  
"Mmmf!" Roxy exclaimed in delight as she swallowed the last of her Leppa. Afterwards, she turned to Makari and asked, "What d'ya think he's gonna teach me?"  
  
"I suspect the same basic training that cubs go through. You will learn basic proficiency in all of our weapons, how to properly use your electricity, and some close-quarters combat and self-defence. If you perform noticeably well in a particular area, then perhaps he may want to teach you some advanced skills."  
  
"Heh…" Roxy murmured, glancing away, "Somehow I doubt that…"  
  
"Oh come now, Roxy. This is a time to celebrate and be happy. No achievement is too small to be recognized."  
  
"But, Taka…Taka still doesn't like me."  
  
"Yes, I know…" Makari said in a quiet voice, "I did not expect that to change. It probably will not change for quite a while…"  
  
Roxy frowned. "I dunno how I'm s'posed to have a teacher that hates my guts."  
  
"Now, now…I do not believe he dislikes you _that_ much."  
  
"You're his brother, Makari…" Roxy said, turning to look him in the eyes, "What do you think I should do?"  
  
Makari smiled sadly and shook his head. "I do not have that answer."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
"But perhaps…Just try talking to him."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Listen up, _pet_."  
  
Roxy scowled at the derogatory nickname.  
  
"I will be going back to basics today and will teach you self-defence. There is no sense in learning to fight if one is not alive to do so. We will start with utilizing a weapon, in this case a spear, to defend yourself. _If_ this goes well, I will move on to close-quarters self-defence."  
  
She gazed up at Taka and nodded. Her heart was thumping and she was trying to control her quivering. This was it. In order to survive out here, she would have to learn this lesson. It was the most important one. However, Roxy already knew that learning self-defence would involve a lot of beatings and bruises until she could get the hang of it. There wasn't anything like foam practice weapons out here.   
  
Taka tossed her a blunt spear, which she managed to catch. She held it in her paws, trying to imagine it not as a thing she had only seen on TV and in books, but rather as a tool that could actually keep her safe. It was difficult, because in her mind's eye she was swinging the thing around spastically in a blind effort to fend off foes.  
  
If she could learn self-defence, it would not only help her to stay safe but it would make future lessons a little bit easier on her if she could block Taka's 'demonstrations'. If she could master this, then maybe she could master anything. Roxy wasn't sure where this new spring of optimism had come from, but she clung to it desperately.  
  
"Show me your jump strike."  
  
Roxy's brain skipped a gear and she felt that flood of optimism suddenly freeze solid. "Wh-what?" she stammered.  
  
"Your jump strike," Taka repeated, "Prove to me that yesterday was not a fluke."  
  
Roxy glanced at him, then over to one of the targets, then back to him once more. "Uh…" Suddenly her anxiety began to rush back. She felt like one of those humans from that singing TV show, standing on the stage in front of the three judges and getting stage fright.  
  
" _Now._ "  
  
"Ah! R-right…" She gripped the spear and stepped over towards one of the targets, racking her brain desperately to remember what she had learned yesterday. She turned back and glanced at Taka, who had his forelegs crossed and was giving her an impatient look. Roxy found herself frowning. Makari wasn't there to watch today.  
  
Roxy shook her head and focused. This was something she could do. She'd done it before, after all. It was just something else she needed to do before Taka would help her survive out here. Taking a deep breath, she began to dash forward and leapt into her jump strike.  
  
She did end up hitting the target, but she stumbled forward upon landing. If she hadn't waved her forepaws, she would've tumbled over. Dread filled her body upon completing the task incorrectly. She had only been given one chance and she'd messed it up. Was Taka just going to walk away and forget about her training now?  
  
Anxiously, she glanced over her shoulder at the other Pikachu. Taka gave her a disinterested look and said, "Incorrect, but at least somewhat satisfactory. Let us move on to self-defence."  
  
Roxy blinked and tilted her head. "What…?" she murmured, feeling her dread turn to confusion, "But…I messed it up. You said I had to-"  
  
"Yes, I told you to get it right," Taka interjected, "Did you feel how bad you felt inside when you got it wrong?"  
  
She blinked, nodding slowly. She had felt _awful_ upon messing it up.  
  
"Remember that feeling," he instructed her, "Keep it in your mind and associate it with failure. Ultimately, this will give you a greater sense of motivation to avoid all mistakes in real combat, considering the alternative is a painful death."  
  
Roxy blinked again, staring at Taka. Had he just…taught her a lesson?  
  
"Come on," Taka said with a tilt of his head, "Time to train."  
  
"Y-yeah…" Roxy murmured, making her way over towards him, "Sounds good…"  
  
"Right," he said once she was standing in front of him, "Defending with a weapon. The spear is the best for basic defence, so we will start with that. As I am sure you can imagine, holding it before you will block many attacks, most importantly those from claw swipes."  
  
When Taka held up his spear to demonstrate, Roxy held hers up as well and mimicked his pose. She remained quiet and listened to him as he explained what she was to learn. There was something different in the atmosphere as she listened. Something had changed in one of them and she wasn't quite sure what it was.  
  
Was it…respect? Even just a little?  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"You still need to practice many of these techniques. Return here tomorrow at sunup."  
  
Roxy was panting, feeling worn out, but for a change she actually felt good about herself. Having perfected one of Taka's moves, the jump strike, had instilled a hidden sense of confidence in her. It was the proof, however small, that she had needed to know she _could_ learn these things. Still, her learning curve was steep and the training session was filled with mistakes, but progress was being made.   
  
"Okay, Taka," Roxy replied with a nod, "I'll see you then."  
  
Instead of saying goodbye, Taka simply turned and walked away.  
  
Roxy pursed her lips. At Roxy's insistence, Taka had started to slow down in his training and allow her more time to observe and listen, if only because it was actually resulting in minor success, but his personality for the most part remained unchanged. She no longer cried, complained or tried to give up when she missed a block and ended up getting struck, but that didn't seem to impress him.  
  
Shaking her head and shrugging, Roxy too turned and began to walk away. It was the middle of the afternoon, and Makari hadn't returned yet. With not much else to do, Roxy started to slowly stroll through the village.  
  
Now that training was over, Roxy started to feel as relaxed as she could. Things did not completely settle down in her anxious mind, though, and they probably never would. Roxy likened it to being in a boat in the middle of the ocean, infested with ravenous Sharpedo. Compared to everywhere else around, the boat was the safest and most secure place. However, being in a position like that, it would still be impossible to completely relax.  
  
That was how she felt in this village, knowing that it was safe and protected by learned warriors, but predators were out there among the trees.  
  
"Hi Roxy!!"  
  
The young Pikachu glanced over, seeing the group of little cubs that were waving to her. She smiled and waved back. "Hello little ones!" She watched as the trio of cubs scampered off, no doubt on some grand adventure.  
  
Roxy began to make her way back to Makari's hut, hoping that he was back by now, but was by no means in a hurry. Her paws moved leisurely through the village, pausing at times to take in the sights. The more time she spent in this place, the more it fascinated her. It was almost like a fairy tale. A little village constructed from the ground up by Pikachu, hidden away in the deepest part of the woods, and she was _there_.  
  
She met up with Miri along the way, and the two shared a brief conversation. Not long after, she bumped into Ozu who was off to collect food. It was so neat to her to see a position of power like his where any special treatment amounted to very little. Just like anyone else, he still had to get his own food.  
  
Finally, as she neared Makari's hut, she crossed paths with Bamaka, the Pikachu who had first greeted her when she had been introduced to the tribe. She smiled and waved as he approached.  
  
"Young Roxy," he said, pronouncing her name correctly, "It is good to see you."  
  
"Hi Bamaka," she replied, "Wow, did Makari tell you about my name?"  
  
Bamaka chuckled. "He has been trying to spread this information through the village."  
  
"Heehee…It's really not that big of a deal, but I do appreciate it."  
  
The much taller Pikachu grinned, hoisting his spear over his shoulder as he stood on his hind legs. She could see that his fur was damp with sweat, and guessed that he had either been training or had just come back from patrolling. "I hope things are going well?" he asked.  
  
"Mhm," she said with a nod, "I don't really feel like a stranger here anymore."  
  
He chuckled again. "I never considered you a stranger. How can another Pikachu be a stranger, hm?"  
  
Roxy took a moment to glance around. Nearly everywhere she looked, she saw Pokémon that looked like her. It was nice not to feel like the odd one out amidst company like this.  
  
"Is your training going well?"  
  
Turning back to look at Bamaka, Roxy lost her smile but didn't frown. "I suppose so…It's a lot to learn and it's nothing I've ever done…but I have to learn. I don't have a choice."  
  
"I am sure you will succeed if you have a good attitude about it."  
  
Roxy returned to smiling. "You're right. I'm trying my best to do that."  
  
Bamaka grinned and said, "Well, good luck young Roxy." He started walking away. "I will see you around. I am looking forward to patrolling with you eventually!"  
  
As Bamaka walked away, Roxy found herself frozen on the spot and staring ahead at nothing. Bamaka's intentions with that last passing comment had been good. It was meant to be encouraging. However, it simply left Roxy reminded of what was to come in the future. Bamaka was right. Eventually, she would need to go out on patrol.  
  
Learning to fight wasn't just about surviving, it was about being a part of the tribe that was protecting her. Eventually, she would be forced to pull her own weight.  
  
Roxy gulped and shivered, all positive feeling having been drained out of her. It was times like these that she just felt horrible. Sure training was something that would only be beneficial to her in the long run, but how was she supposed to be motivated when the eventual goal was something she did not want?  
  
The distraught Pikachu sighed and turned around, continuing to approach Makari's hut. After taking a few steps however, her eyes shot open and her ears perked up. She started to flat out run towards the hut, and practically jumped onto the other Pikachu once she was there.  
  
"Makari!!" she cried gleefully, "You're back!"  
  
Though slightly surprised by the sudden hug attack, Makari quickly smiled and returned the embrace. "Hello, Roxy."  
  
Her smile was ear to ear, all bad thoughts banished from her mind. She squeezed this other Pikachu, her best friend in the whole village, and felt the warmth of happiness slowly begin to spread.   
  
It was times like _these_ when she felt like, just maybe, everything would turn out okay.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy couldn't believe it. She was _improving_.  
  
It was the following day, which brought with it another solo training session with Taka. He had been teaching her some more close-quarters defence techniques and, though she was still somewhat slow to learn, she was starting to pick up on some of them. In fact, she had even managed to coax a few 'good's, 'well done's, and even one 'excellent' from Taka.  
  
They were all said with the emotion of an irate Mamoswine, but Roxy took what she could get.  
  
"Try it one more time," Taka commanded her, and she nodded.   
  
Taka had been teaching her how to avoid danger by leaping, or dodging, to the side. Now, he was trying to teach her to backflip as a form of distancing herself from any foe.   
  
Now, Roxy could climb trees with ease and easily leap from one skinny pole on the front gate of her home to the other, but _flipping_ in the air was something that didn't come quite as easily to her. It was a little vexing at first. However, her first few attempts hadn't been all that terrible, despite getting a few face-fulls of dirt.   
  
Taka had seen this and was trying to guide her into a proper form. Roxy smiled as she realized that maybe they were both improving. Maybe it wouldn't be long before Taka was the best teacher ever.  
  
"Now."  
  
If he could work on his attitude, of course.  
  
Roxy adopted the ready stance on the ground, pretended to be facing off against an opponent, and prepared to try another backflip. Taka had told her that leaping off of the ground was the part she was doing well at, so that wasn't the problem. After focusing for a moment, she leapt.  
  
The world spun around her as she flipped. The ground whipped past her field of vision, and then she prepared to land. The ground, however, met her about 0.4 seconds too early. She flailed her forepaws but it was no use and she fall to the ground on her belly.  
  
"Hmm…"  
  
Groaning, Roxy sat up at looked up at Taka.  
  
"I must admit, you _are_ improving…" he commented drolly, "Your flip was performed without much flaw."  
  
Roxy raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Huh?" she voiced her confusion, "But I…fell…"  
  
"As I said," Taka replied, "Your flip was performed without much flaw. Your _landing_ , however, needs a lot more work."  
  
"Oh… Heh…"  
  
Roxy stood up on her paws, but she was starting to pant. The two of them had been training for a couple of hours at this point. It was hard to hide the fact that she was getting tired.  
  
Taka cast a sidelong glance at her, then let out a short little sigh. "We will take a break," he said, "Sit down."  
  
Roxy paused, not quite having expected to hear that. "Oh…Uh, okay. Thanks."  
  
Taka didn't reply and simply walked over to one of the pieces of wood in the training area, sitting down on it like it was a chair. Roxy stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do with herself, then decided to sit on another piece of wood that she hoped wasn't close enough to make Taka feel uncomfortable.  
  
At first, she just sat there and twiddled her paws. Taka had never really offered her a rest stop before. She was grateful for the break, but couldn't think of anything to do in the meanwhile. Makari wasn't around for her to talk to.  
  
She glanced over at Taka, who was sitting with his back to her. He wasn't moving, and one might've assumed he was sleeping from such a viewpoint. He truly was slowly becoming a better teacher, but the two's relationship was still relatively unchanged. Roxy didn't really feel the pressing need to become friends with Taka, but she wanted to change the rather icy connection that they currently shared.  
  
What had Makari said? Talk to him? What would she say…?  
  
"Hey, uh…Thanks for doing this…I really feel like I'm learning a lot…"  
  
Taka didn't reply. It looked as if he hadn't even heard her.  
  
Roxy frowned and wracked her brain, trying to come up with something that he might want to talk about. Most of the Pokémon she had interacted with were other pets who were usually really friendly from the get-go. She couldn't really talk about herself because most of her own aspects put a bad taste in his mouth.  
  
"Um…I heard from someone that you know how to read human language."  
  
There was a pause, and it looked as if she was going to get the silent treatment again. Then, however, there was a barely discernable reply. "I can."  
  
"Really? That's pretty cool. Or, I mean…y'know, unexpected."  
  
"Mm…"  
  
"How did you learn?"  
  
Another brief pause. Still, Taka did not turn to face her. "I picked it up when I traveled to the human villages."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up. "Oh, right! I almost forgot that you went on, like, a journey. You went all the way to the edge of the forest, right?"  
  
She almost missed it, but he nodded his head.  
  
"Um…Do you mind if I ask…why?"  
  
Another minute of uncomfortable silence filled the air before Taka replied. "I was younger," he said simply, "and I craved adventure."  
  
"Oh, I see," Roxy said with a nod, even though he wasn't looking at her, "I can understand that. A lot of my cubhood friends dreamt of adventuring…"  
  
"…"  
  
Roxy thought about this for a moment. Taka had not just left the forest and made it to the human city, but he had been there long enough to pick up on how their language worked. One question answered, ten more unanswered.  
  
"Well, um…What did you see while you were out there? Did you see, like, a sign or a name or something?" Roxy was desperate to learn the name of this neighbouring city, as it would give her at least some idea of where she was. It was a really unnerving feeling to not even know which _continent_ she was on.  
  
Instead of replying, however, Taka merely turned his head slightly. He affixed her with the gaze of a single eye, displaying an unmistakable expression of irritation.  
  
"N-never mind," Roxy stammered, "It's fine if you don't wanna talk…or whatever…"  
  
Taka turned away from her again, and silence returned. For at least three or four minutes, not a single word was said between the two of them.  
  
"There are events on that journey I would like to forget."  
  
Roxy turned her head in surprise upon hearing Taka's voice. The other Pikachu still would not face her, but his words had been crystal clear.  
  
"Why?" Roxy asked, "Did something…happen?" When he didn't respond, Roxy quickly backtracked. "Sorry! Sorry, never mind… I don't mean to pry or anything. Sorry."  
  
Taka sighed in exasperation.  
  
"I'm sorry we got off on the wrong paw like this…" she mumbled.  
  
"You would do better in combat without that _thing_ around your neck."  
  
Roxy turned to look at him, gently grasping her collar with her forepaws. "What? But, I…I can't take this off."  
  
"Your loss."  
  
"I'm sorry, but I almost lost this and I don't want to lose it again," she said with a frown, "It's special to me…"  
  
"Of course," Taka replied sarcastically, "Along with that stupid flower in your fur."  
  
Roxy pursed her lips and then replied, "Well, your brother wears a stupid feather in _his_ fur."  
  
This is what had finally gotten Taka to turn around and face her completely. His gaze was narrowed, while Roxy allowed herself a small, humble victory smirk.  
  
Eventually, Taka just shook his head. "You would never understand…" he muttered, "You do not understand how to battle, nor do you understand our culture. I am surprised the Wise Ones welcomed you so openly, because you…" He trailed off and glanced away.  
  
"…Because I don't belong here?" Roxy asked, "Is that what you were going to say?"  
  
Taka didn't reply.  
  
"Well, you're right."  
  
Taka turned back and gave her an odd look.  
  
"I don't belong here," she repeated, "This is not my home and it's not where I want to be."  
  
Now Taka was looking at her with a little less malice.  
  
"That's why I need to do this," she said, "I need to get home."  
  
A few moments of contemplative silence passed for the both of them. Taka just sat there for a while, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Roxy had definitely hit a nerve, but she wasn't sure which direction she had hit it in.  
  
"Come," Taka said, getting up on his paws, "Enough rest. Let us get back to training."  
  
Roxy paused for a moment, trying to read her companion, then decided to just nod her head and prepare for more training.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"You have improved a lot, Roxy! Well done!"  
  
"Makari, do not over-praise her. She still has a _long_ way to go."  
  
"Sure, but do not gloss over her achievements, Taka."  
  
Roxy watched the two brothers squabble, unsure whether to feel uneasy or amused. The sun had risen twice since her little talk with Taka, and in that time she had found herself to be somewhat adept in dodging. After a while, she had found it just to be an extension of the nimbleness that she practiced while hopping through trees or running through her master's garden.  
  
Offensive techniques, however, would not come so easily to her. She had just spent all day with Taka, trying to learn how to strike at foes properly with a spear. It by no means had been an embarrassing display, but Taka still wasn't much satisfied with her progress.  
  
Taka turned to look right at her, making her jump slightly in surprise. "Start practicing in your spare time, otherwise I will be teaching you long enough for the four seasons to pass."  
  
Roxy blinked, then gulped and nodded. "Sh-sure…" she murmured, "I'll do my best."  
  
"The reason you struggle with the spear is because your grip is all wrong. Correct this by the time I see you tomorrow."  
  
"Uh…Okay…" she muttered, feeling a little intimidated by this task.  
  
"I enjoyed watching your jump strike, Roxy," Makari interjected with a smile, "It has vastly improved since you have started."  
  
Makari quietly yelped when Taka punched him in the shoulder. He tossed his brother an accusatory glance as he rubbed his shoulder.  
  
"Stop _coddling_ her, Makari."  
  
Makari gave him a flat look. "Taka, if I were 'coddling' her, I would have insisted she not learn to fight at all. Encouragement is an im-"  
  
Taka held up his paw to interrupt, sighed, and shook his head. "I do not have time for this nonsense. I am needed on patrol." He then turned to Roxy once more and barked a single word at her. " _Practice._ " With that, he turned on the spot and strolled away into the woods.  
  
"Yes sir…" Roxy said with a touch of dry humour.  
  
Makari sighed. "Roxy, I-"  
  
"No, no, don't apologize for him…He's just…just…"  
  
"Just Taka?"  
  
Roxy giggled and nodded. "He doesn't really seem so mean anymore. He's just…himself."  
  
"One eventually grows weary of his 'himself'…"  
  
"Yeah, I know…" Roxy replied. She then casually walked over and picked up the blunt spear. She gazed at it intently for a moment, trying to picture the way Taka had shown her how to hold it. She then faced in the direction of the targets, set her hind paws firmly in the ground, and adopted a ready stance.  
  
"Would you like my help?"  
  
Roxy turned to look at Makari and said, "Really? Would you?"  
  
"Of course," he said with a good-natured chuckle, "If ever you want me to help you touch up on your lessons, feel free to ask."  
  
"That would be awesome."  
  
Roxy turned around to face Makati instead and adopted the same pose. She tensed her muscles like Taka had told her, and held the spear ready for whatever imaginary attack was coming her way.  
  
Makari glanced at her for a second and then spoke. "Your forepaws are too close together, and your hind paws are too far apart."  
  
Looking down at her hind paws, Roxy relaxed a little and tried to adjust her stance. "Like this?"  
  
"No, that is too close. They should be just slightly wider than you would if you were standing. Think of it like you are preparing to pounce on someone."  
  
"Okay…" Roxy said, moving her paws some more, "Like this?"  
  
"Perfect."  
  
Roxy tensed up again, and she could tell that her hind paws were now in the right spot. This felt a lot more comfortable.   
  
"Yes, exactly," Makari said with a nod, "Your paws need to be ready for anything. You may need to strike forward, or leap back away from danger. If your legs are spread or hunched together, you lose that."  
  
Roxy nodded, understanding what he was saying. His way of explaining things was a lot easier to follow than Taka's.  
  
"Now your forepaws," he continued, "They are still too close."  
  
"Oh. Really?"  
  
"Taka has shown you many different spear techniques, so I am sure you have noticed that your paws are often in different places. If they are close together like that, you are liable to drop your weapon."  
  
Roxy looked down and adjusted her grip. "Like this?"  
  
"Still too close."  
  
She frowned in confusion. "This…?"  
  
Makari looked like he was suppressing a chuckle. "No, it is- Here."  
  
He then stepped towards her and manoeuvered around until he was standing behind her back. Roxy followed him with her eyes, but kept herself in her battle stance. "I don't get what you mean…" she said.  
  
"That is okay. Let me show you." Makari then stepped right up behind her, almost close enough for her to feel his fur. He reached forward with his two forepaws, bringing them around to her front and resting them on top of her own forepaws. He gently grasped them, and Roxy immediately felt the tingle of Makari's Static giving her a little zap. It made her shiver a little.  
  
Roxy's eyes were wide open and staring blankly at her paws, which now each had a larger companion grasping them. Makari gently moved her paws along the spear until they were resting in the proper spot. From there, he shifted his limbs and pushed softly against hers, easing and molding her into the correct position.  
  
"Like this. You see?"  
  
His voice was right in her ear. She could feel his words being carried on his warm breath, sending an involuntary shiver up her spine. He was close enough to her that she could feel his body heat. If she focused hard enough, she could swear that she could feel his heartbeat too.   
  
Roxy gulped, feeling her mind go blank. There was hands-on learning, and then there was this. Unless she was hugging her master, Roxy didn't usually get this _close_ to others. It certainly wasn't a matter of trust; Roxy had come to trust Makari implicitly. She had given him a few hugs too. It wasn't like the feel of his fur or the jolt of his Static was anything new.   
  
So, it made her wonder why her heart was thumping so hard.  
  
"Roxy? Hello?"  
  
Roxy jolted, as if suddenly waking up. "Huh? What?" she stammered, looking around. She realized that she had just been standing there and holding the pose by herself, Makari having moved away to stand in front of her.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
She blinked. "Um…Y-yeah. Fine. Why?"  
  
"You seemed like you were, hm…lost in thought?"  
  
Roxy chuckled awkwardly and waved her paw dismissively. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinkin' about stuff. I'm fine, don't worry…."  
  
She then turned her head away, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were burning up and exhibiting a vibrant rosy hue.


	9. Visitors

It was a relaxing day in the forest, something that was quite rare to Roxy.  
  
She was seated on a small grassy knoll just off to the side of the village centre. She had a _big_ Chesto Berry gripped in her paws, and a demure little smile on her face compliments of the one she had just finished eating. Sitting next to her was Miri, whom she'd met up with after the day's training.  
  
To Roxy's shock and elation, she was actually starting to gain skills. She'd been training for more than a week at this point, but signs of progress could definitely be seen. She still had a long way to go when it came to using weapons, but she had started picking up skills in close-quarters combat and self-defence. She was even getting better at defending oncoming strikes with a stick or spear.  
  
She sighed and gently leaned her head against Miri's much larger form. The atmosphere of the forest seemed different on this day. It seemed calm and serene, the perfect way to wind down after a long day of training. She did feel pretty worn out. After all, Taka was still a hard-hitting teacher.  
  
Roxy had gone to see Miri quite a few times to treat minor injuries sustained during training. The two had started to bond rather well. With Makari out on patrol again, Roxy had asked to spend the rest of the day with Miri, and the Audino had agreed.  
  
"Adikai is getting big," Miri commented, "It seems like yesterday that he was hatched."  
  
Roxy looked over to where Miri was looking and saw the little Shinx running about with other cubs.   
  
"He sure is cute," she said.  
  
Miri laughed. "Do not let Adi catch you saying that."  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
"Because Adi is trying to raise his son as a fierce warrior. Warriors are not 'cute'."  
  
"I dunno about that," Roxy chuckled, "I've seen some pretty cute things on TV do some pretty formidable things."  
  
There was a brief pause, and then Miri spoke up once more. "Tell me something about your world?"  
  
Roxy turned to look at the Audino, and saw that Miri was looking at her with an intrigued expression. "Huh?" Roxy asked, "What do you wanna know?"  
  
"Whatever you would like. Tell me something interesting."  
  
"Uh, hmm… Okay…" Roxy wracked her brain, trying to think of something. She had never been much of a storyteller, and it was hard to choose something that could be easily explained to a Pokémon who had never had contact with humans or the human world.  
  
"Poké Puffs."  
  
Miri tilted her head. "Pardon?"  
  
Roxy smiled, feeling a wave of pleasant memories. "Poké Puffs are a kind of food that my master's father used to make for me. Tons of Pokémon love them, both pets and trained ones. I love them so much!"  
  
"What do they taste like?" Miri asked, appearing to be fully invested in what Roxy had to say.  
  
"They're sweet. But…not sweet like, say, a Pecha Berry. A Pecha has an…an exciting, juicy sweetness to it, but a Poké Puff isn't juicy. Yet, it has an explosion of delightful flavours. It just…I dunno, it makes your taste buds do a little dance and beg for more."  
  
Miri was glancing away, but still seemed to be listening. Roxy surmised she was trying to imagine the taste. It was hard describing a confectionary to someone who had eaten mostly berries and plants.  
  
"It's like a treat. A reward after a hard day's work. Something to just make you go 'Mmmm!' You can make them with all sorts of different flavours, like Rawst Berry or choc-" She paused, realizing that Miri wouldn't know what chocolate was. "Or something rich, or something tangy."  
  
"I will admit that it is a little difficult to imagine," Miri said, returning her gaze to Roxy, "but they sound wonderful."  
  
Roxy nodded and let out a nostalgic sigh. "They remind me of home…If I could taste one right now, it would feel like I was back home again…"   
  
"Would you be able to show us how to make one for you?"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you don't have the ingredients out here."  
  
"Mhm…That is a shame."  
  
"I'll have one soon, though," she said with a hopeful smile, "My master and I will have a whole buffet of treats once I find her."  
  
Miri giggled softly, and then the two lapsed into silence once more. For a while, they simply sat and watched the village go by. It was relaxing to watch the Pikachu and other creatures go about their business. When she wasn't being chased by predators, the forest could actually be quite peaceful.  
  
"Greetings, Karizu!"  
  
Roxy glanced up upon hearing Miri's greeting and saw that the Raichu in question was treading past nearby.  
  
"Good afternoon Miri, Rakasi."  
  
"'Roxy'," Miri corrected.  
  
"Roxy, yes. My apologies," Karizu said with a Mareepish grin.  
  
The Pikachu flushed slightly. "I-it's okay. It's close enough anyway."  
  
"How are you, Karizu?" Miri asked.   
  
"I was looking for Adi. Have you seen him?"  
  
Roxy smiled as she listened to the two talk. None of the villagers ever called the Raichu as 'Wise Ones' unless referring to them as a group. She had feared the trio when she had first seen them, but now she was starting to get rather acquainted with them.   
  
"And Roxy, how are you faring? How long has it been now, two weeks?"  
  
"At least," she replied, "I'm, uh…It's slow going, but I think I'm…settling in." A frown appeared on her face as she considered what she had just said. For a moment she thought about home and what the future would hold, but then shook it off. There was no use worrying about it anyway.  
  
"That is good to hear. How about your training? I have heard sayings that Taka is not treating you very well."  
  
Roxy glanced away. "At first yeah, but he's gotten…better. I guess. But, um, I _am_ learning."  
  
"Well, that is the important part I suppose."  
  
They were about to continue the conversation, but something caught Roxy's and Miri's eyes. Karizu also turned around to see what they were looking at.  
  
A somewhat young-looking Pikachu was running towards them on all fours, sprinting as quickly as he could. They could see him panting as he approached them, which continued even after he came to a stop. Before he could speak, he spent a few moments just catching his breath.  
  
"Yago?" Karizu spoke, "What is it?"  
  
The Pikachu, apparently named Yago, finally caught his breath enough to speak and looked up at the Raichu. "K…Karizu…!" he gasped, still panting heavily, "They…They are…" He panted a few more times before finally saying, "They are here!"  
  
At first Karizu looked confused, but then a dawning realization spread across his features. A stern look appeared on his face. "Now? You have seen them?"  
  
Yago nodded. "I have," he replied, "The three will come here. They are looking for you."  
  
Roxy, utterly confused, felt Miri stiffen beside her. She glanced over at the Audino, who suddenly stood up. Before Roxy could voice her confusion, Miri coaxed her up as well. Miri then took a step forward, placing herself halfway in front of the Pikachu.  
  
"What?" Roxy finally spoke, "Who's coming?"  
  
"They are early…" Karizu muttered, and then shook his head. "Find Natoka," he commanded, "He is on patrol, but I do not know where."  
  
Yago merely nodded, turned, and ran.  
  
Karizu then turned to look into the distance, a serious and contemplative look on his face, before making his way over to the clearing in the village centre. He stood there, seeming to wait for whatever was coming.  
  
"Miri…?" Roxy spoke, her voice a little shaky, "W-what's happening? What's going on?"  
  
"Just stay here, Roxy," Miri spoke, her voice unnervingly serious, "Stay with me. Do not worry, you will be safe."  
  
"But what…?"  
  
Roxy was interrupted, as suddenly she began to notice a distant rumbling sound. It was deep, almost like the sound of rolling thunder, and it was slowly growing nearer. Roxy had no idea what to make of it, but it immediately frightened her.  
  
Once it was closer, Roxy began to feel slight tremors in the ground. The sound began to space itself out, and Roxy thought it sounded like someone playing a gigantic set of drums. Were those footsteps? They sounded almost like the footsteps of a _giant_!  
  
The tremors grew more noticeable, and Roxy found herself clutching Miri's side in fear. She kept her eyes forward, however, and saw that Karizu was still standing in the clearing. His forepaws were crossed and he seemed almost impatient.  
  
Finally, in the distance, Roxy saw something moving. It was moving _fast_ towards them. The Pokémon was absolutely barreling through the woods, just barely avoiding knocking down every tree he passed. She saw some of the villagers running out of the way, simply to avoid getting trampled. Miri had told her not to be afraid, but at the same time she saw many females ushering their cubs into the huts.  
  
Roxy gasped and shrunk back in fear. He was running full speed into the clearing and directly towards Karizu. She thought for sure he was going to crash, but he slammed on the brakes at the last possible moment. Coming to a stop within mere inches of Karizu's muzzle, the Graveler raised up his four beefy arms and let out a terrifying _roar_.  
  
Karizu, throughout the whole incident, hadn't moved a muscle. In fact, his expression showed nothing more than mild irritation.  
  
Once he had stopped roaring, the Graveler gave the Raichu a toothy grin and started laughing. It was a deep bellowing laugh that made Roxy quiver with intimidation. She was so confused and frightened. She still had no idea what was going on.  
  
" **Me scare you good!** " the Graveler bellowed before laughing once more. Roxy could immediately tell by his voice and the way he spoke that intelligence was probably not this Pokémon's strong suit. That didn't dampen how strong and powerful he looked, though.  
  
"Of course…" Karizu replied in a bored-sounding voice, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Za…Must you always?" Roxy's ears perked up upon hearing the new voice. She turned her head in the direction the Graveler had come from, where she saw a Sandslash approaching. The Sandslash had a smug look on his face, holding his two _very_ sharp-looking claws lazily at his side.  
  
The Graveler, Za, simply laughed once more and stepped away from Karizu. He joined the Sandslash in the centre of the clearing.  
  
"Welcome Za…Kuzu…" Karizu said, first looking at the Graveler and then the Sandslash. There wasn't much hospitality in his tone, however. "That was quite an unnecessary entrance."  
  
" **Heh heh…Little Raichu scared…** " Za chuckled.  
  
Kuzu, the Sansdlash, smirked. "Do not concern yourself with it," he replied in a smug tone, "Few can control this big lump anyway. Best you can do is make sure to get out of the way before someone gets hurt." He gave Za a tap on the side with one of his claws.  
  
"…Miri?" Roxy squeaked as the two parties continued to speak, "Who…Who are those two…"  
  
"They are members of one of our neighbours, the Earth Tribe."  
  
"Earth Tribe…" Roxy repeated quietly, staring at the two newcomers. After a moment, her eyes shot open wide in realization.  
  
 _Ground-types!_  
  
"…does not give you the right to push us around!" Karizu was saying. The three of them seemed to have slipped into an argument.  
  
"You cannot tell us what to do," Kuzu hotly replied, though still somehow seemed smug while saying it, "You should spend every waking moment considering yourself lucky!"  
  
"Do not go against the established agreement," Karizu warned.  
  
"Is that a _challenge_?!" Kuzu suddenly snapped, holding up his claws aggressively.   
  
Roxy gasped in fright. Was there going to be a fight? These weren't predators but they still seemed incredibly dangerous. Roxy's eyes glanced around quickly, feeling herself verging on panic. There were Pikachu and other Thunder Clan members standing around. Their weapons were sheathed and they were keeping their distance. She spotted Taka, standing a fair distance away with his forepaws crossed.  
  
"Kuzu…" Karizu calmly tried to reply, "I was-"  
  
" **Know your place, puny rodent!** " Za boomed.  
  
"Yes!" Kuzu shouted, "If you make us angry, then we-"  
  
"Kuzu! Za!" a new voice called, "Such angry words! There is no need for aggression, we are _guests_ here!"  
  
Roxy glanced in the direction of the voice, and saw a third Pokémon approaching from behind the other two newcomers. Taller than Kuzu but slightly shorter than Za, he walked forward between them with a calm, complacent look on his face. He had his two claws held up, but rather than a show of aggression he seemed to be indicating to the other Ground-types to calm down.  
  
She stared wide-eyed at the Excadrill. Unlike his two companions, he was covered in the same body paint as the Thunder Clan. The difference was that his was a light brown colour instead of being green. His massive, trowel-like claws looked impossibly sharp and dangerous. His paint-marked face sat underneath his 'helmet' of a third sharp protrusion, with his eyes closed and a half-smirk upon his face.  
  
Roxy shivered. Excadrill were not native to Kanto or any of the neighbouring continents. She had never seen one in real-life before. Not only was it incredibly frightening to see one in the flesh, but this also raised questions in her mind. This was a possible indication that she was, in fact, _not_ in Kanto anymore.  
  
The Excadrill was shaking his head and chuckling. "Honestly," he said, his voice sounding really smooth, "You two behave like ravenous beasts sometimes."  
  
"Sorry, boss," the two replied at the same time.  
  
"Karizu, my friend," the Excadrill said, approaching the Raichu, "How wonderful to see you again!"  
  
"Tazoka…" Karizu replied, a hint of disdain in his voice.  
  
"I apologize for my associates' behaviour. Some of us still do not see the whole picture, it seems."  
  
Karizu simply grunted softly in response.  
  
Tazoka walked forward, holding up one of his claws and extending it forward. There was a grin on his face, but the shadow from the blade on his head covered up his eyes. Karizu hesitated briefly, but then took a step forward and held out his own paw. He placed it in Tazoka's palm and the two shook.  
  
"All alone, this afternoon?" Tazoka spoke, "Where are the other Raichu?"  
  
"The others are…They are occupied," Karizu spoke evenly.  
  
Roxy was just staring at this exchange, not daring to move a muscle. She had no idea what was going on, but her instincts told her that she didn't like whatever it was. She just wanted to leave or make herself invisible somehow.  
  
"That is the Earth Tribe's leader," Miri explained, keeping her voice quiet.  
  
Roxy glanced up at her, and then looked over at the Excadrill.  
  
"The Earth Tribe is one of our greatest foes," Miri continued, "Tales tell of the old days, where the Thunder Clan could only run in fear from the Earth Tribe. We are powerless to fight them. Thunder strikes are ineffective, and their thick skin protects them from our weapons."  
  
"That's right…" Roxy murmured, "Electric moves are ineffective against Ground-types…"  
  
"Thankfully, times have changed…" Miri spoke, though she didn't sound very happy.  
  
Tazoka was chuckling dryly, still wearing that same smirk-like smile and holding his claws up in a shrug. "Good to hear, good to hear…" he spoke, "It would be such a shame if we were to cause you much stress."  
  
Roxy didn't like the way he was talking. He always had a smile on his face and never spoke with even a hint of aggression, but something about his demeanour seemed off. She was vaguely reminded of some character she'd seen on TV once. She got the feeling that his friendly outward appearance was not entirely genuine.  
  
Karizu stepped forward. "We thank you, members of the Earth Tribe, for your continued cooperation in these endeavours."  
  
Tazoka raised his forelimbs up once more, closing his eyes and saying, "But of course, of course! It is our pleasure." He then turned back and regarded his two companions. "Right, boys?"  
  
Kuzu smirked and nodded, while Za simply bellowed out a vaguely affirmative-sounding grunt.  
  
"I trust everything is ready?" Tazoka said, returning his gaze to Karizu.  
  
Karizu nodded to him, and then turned to look at some of the gathered Pikachu and nodded again. The villagers then picked up small grass-woven baskets that were sitting nearby and started to carry them into the clearing. Roxy watched this with confusion, and then she saw what was inside the baskets. Each one was willed with a plethora of assorted berries.  
  
"What…?" she whispered.  
  
"Our two tribes have come to an agreement," Miri explained, "They no longer attack us and leave us completely alone. In exchange, once every full moon, we provide them with food we have foraged."  
  
Roxy simply watched this in silence, seeing more and more baskets being placed in the clearing by the minute.  
  
"Thus, our two tribes have been at peace for generations."  
  
"So, you have to… _pay_ them every month…just to keep safe?" Roxy asked, eyes wide open, "It's like…That's like blackmail…" She remembered an old gangster movie she and her master had watched on TV once. She recalled how the bad humans had forced a store owner to pay them money, otherwise they would trash the place.  
  
Kuzu and Za were watching the food with greedy, hungry-looking eyes. Tazoka, meanwhile, was simply watching the proceedings with that same grin on his face.  
  
"How _much_ food do you give them…?"  
  
"Miri?" Karizu's voice suddenly cut through the air, grabbing both of their attentions. The Raichu was beckoning her over with his paw.  
  
"Looks like he needs my help," Miri said. Roxy paled as she realized that Miri was about to leave her alone, but Miri gave her a gentle pat and said, "There is no danger. You are safe here."  
  
Roxy tried to reply, but a startled whine was all that came out.  
  
Miri walked away to help with the transfer of the berry baskets, leaving Roxy rooted to the spot and frozen with fear. She wanted to move behind a tree or a bush, but she was too startled to move. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on the three strangers. She pictured an entire tribe of Ground-types. A whole collection of Pokémon immune to most of the attacks the Thunder Clan could wield. That was something _truly_ frightening. She found herself trying to remember if there were any Ground-type predators.  
  
Tazoka was idly walking over towards Karizu. "My, this looks more than satisfactory," he said to the Raichu, "You and your tribe truly know where to find the best berries."  
  
Karizu remained silent.  
  
The Excadrill chuckled. "We _greatly_ appreciate this _generous_ donation, Karizu. With this, our friendship can continue to flourish and blossom."  
  
"You are early," Karizu stated, ignoring what Tazoka had said.  
  
Tazoka shrugged. "I apologize, Karizu. My tribe hungers."  
  
"All accounted for, boss!" Kuzu chirped.  
  
Tazoka swung his head around to regard the collection of baskets, then grinned. "Excellent."  
  
" **Berries!!** " Za bellowed.  
  
"Excellent," Tazoka repeated, clapping his two claws together. It made a startling _clang_ sound. "We _do_ so appreciate everything you do for us, Karizu."  
  
"I trust our business is done here?" Karizu said gruffly, his forepaws crossed once more.   
  
Tazoka changed his expression so that he looked hurt or offended, but Roxy didn't find it one single bit genuine. "My friend, you do me an injustice. We are not enemies, remember?"   
  
He then turned away and began to idly walk around the clearing. He held up his claws for emphasis and gazed at his surroundings. "After all," he continued, "I always enjoy coming to your wonderful little forest hideaway. Your strange dwellings are always so fascinating, and you have such a charming little group of Pokémon here." He walked in a wide circle, shifting his gaze amongst the group of onlookers who were wisely keeping their distance. "So many Pikachu, yet you all look different." He chuckled. "Yes, so many little Pikachu."  
  
Roxy's breath caught in her throat as she realized that Tazoka was circling around towards her. She silently screamed at her legs to work, but they ultimately ignored her.   
  
Just as she had expected, Tazoka stopped suddenly the moment he laid eyes on her. There was look of surprise on his face. "Oh!"   
  
Roxy felt her heart thumping like mad in her chest. She immediately panicked and thought the Excadrill was about to mutilate her. She tried desperately to remember what Taka had taught her, but found she was drawing blanks.  
  
"Well, what do we have here?" Tazoka said as he started slowly stepping towards her. His expression had changed to an intrigued one, accompanied by that same smirk.  
  
Roxy gulped, eyes wide and ears flat against her skull. He was coming closer and he was _so much bigger than her._ She was so frightened that she nearly forgot to breathe.  
  
"My, my…" Tazoka mused as he stood only a few feet away from her, tilting his head down at her, "You are certainly something different. Something rather…out of place?"  
  
She shivered on the spot, staring up at him. The sunlight that shone through the trees glinted off of the blade on his head, shining a glare into her eyes while also casting his entire face in shadow. This was besides the fact that it looked razor-sharp.  
  
"Hmhmm…Yes, you stand out, young one. I wonder what your story is." He pointed one of his claws towards her neck, making her flinch. "That is _human_ branding, is it not?"  
  
Still, her tongue was tied.  
  
"If I had to guess, I would say that you are not from around here…" he spoke. Roxy was _sure_ she saw his eyes narrow into something more sinister for just a split second. "You are a stranger…"  
  
"Tazoka-" Karizu tried to interject.  
  
"Now, now, Karizu…" the Excadrill said, holding up one of his claws at Karizu, "There is nothing to be concerned about. You must forgive my curiosity, after all. Among this village filled with wild, warrior Pikachu, there sits this delicate little thing." Tazoka shifted his lips and leaned forward just slightly. "Are you… _lost_?"  
  
"I…I…"  
  
"How fascinating…" Tazoka continued, his voice lowering in tone, "A trained Pokémon from the human world, lost in the forest…And this little tribe has decided to adopt you? Ah, I do love it when the story has a happy ending…"  
  
Roxy was now shivering even more. There was _something_ about this Pokémon, something she couldn't put her paw on, that really unnerved her. He was the most amicable of the three, but she felt like he was the one to be most afraid of.  
  
"No…" he murmured softly, leaning in even closer, "Trained Pokémon do not often wear those…Your demeanour says otherwise as well…"  
  
"H…Huh…?"  
  
A sly grin appeared on Tazoka's face. "You are a human's pet. My, your story gets more interesting by the minute…"  
  
He moved one of his claws. She flinched as her heart skipped a beat. She watched with panicked eyes as he slowly moved it towards her, bringing that sharp instrument of death closer and closer to her vulnerable neck. Her life flashed before her eyes until the moment it made contact with her, and everything froze.  
  
His claw was resting under her chin, ever so gently tilting it upwards so that she was looking at him. Her heart raced faster than ever before. She could barely breathe. All it would take was a slight flick of the wrist, and she would be dead. Her whole body felt like a block of ice.  
  
"Well…Do not worry, little pet…" Tazoka spoke in a near-whisper, "Stay with them and you will have _nothing_ to fear…"  
  
There was a sudden flash of movement and someone cried out in pain. Roxy let out an involuntary yelp of pure fear before her brain caught up to what was going on. Something wooden and tinted with blue had zipped past her field of vision, and now Tazoka was standing back and rubbing his wrist in pain. Something had struck him, and he did not look happy about it. His head was turned in the direction the object had come from, a venomous glare on his face.   
  
Roxy got the feeling that he was about to murder whoever had hit him.  
  
Though she made sure to keep an eye on the Excadrill, Roxy turned and looked to her left. She just managed to catch the sight of Taka catching his boomerang in his paw. She realized that he must have thrown it at Tazoka. Now that it was back in his paw, he lowered his limb to his side and fixed Tazoka with a calm but intense glare.   
  
Tazoka was clearly angry. She could see his two associates in the background getting incensed and shouting things at Taka, but the Excadrill simply remained silent and stared. Roxy also saw a few Thunder Clan members looking wide-eyed between the two.  
  
"Do not..." Taka spoke in a clear, deliberate tone, "...place a claw...on one of our clan."  
  
The whole clearing fell silent. Tazoka continued to stare angrily at the Pikachu, while Taka maintained his calm but authoritative disposition. Kuzu and Za had stopped shouting, but were also looking at Taka and appeared to be even angrier than their boss. Karizu was standing off to the side looking slightly uneasy, while Roxy was just focusing on reminding herself to keep breathing.  
  
Finally, after an agonizingly tension-filled minute, Tazoka raised both of his claws up palms outward. He closed his eyes and changed his expression to a subtle frown. "No," he spoke, "You are right. I have clearly overstepped my boundary." He then took a few steps back from her and turned so he was half-facing Taka as well. "I implore your forgiveness, Taka."  
  
Kuzu looked appalled. "But...But boss-!"  
  
"Now, now, Kuzu..." Tazoka interjected, "He was clearly in his right. Our tribes have an agreement, after all, and where would we be if we did not respect what was agreed upon? I got carried away, and that was my mistake."  
  
He then turned back towards Roxy, making her jump slightly in surprise. He fixed his gaze upon her for a moment, and then pulled one claw in towards his chest and bowed his head forward. "I sincerely apologize, young one. I hope I did not frighten you."  
  
Roxy's brain stalled for a moment. What was _happening_?!  
  
Tazoka had not moved from his position, so Roxy figured that he must be awaiting a response. "Umm..." she murmured, "Uh...Thanks...?"  
  
He then stood back up and nodded curtly to her. "Well then!" he then said as he turned completely around and clapped his claws together, "Perhaps we should take our _donation_ and go before we accidentally overstay our welcome." He indicated towards his companions. "Sound good?"  
  
"But...But, boss! He-"  
  
Once more, Tazoka interrupted the Sandslash. "Kuzu, restrain yourself. Help Za pick up the baskets, and then we can leave."  
  
"Boss...?"  
  
Tazoka picked up one of the baskets and handed it to him.  
  
"...Okay, boss."  
  
Roxy and most of the Thunder Clan watched in tense silence as the three Ground-types picked up the baskets. Tazoka and Kuzu picked up two each, while Za used his four arms to pick up the rest of them.   
  
"Thank you as always, Karizu!" Tazoka called over his shoulder.  
  
Karizu said nothing.  
  
"We shall see you after the next full moon." Tazoka then began to walk off through the village and into the forest, back the way he came. His two associates followed behind him, though both of them cast one more vengeful glare over at Taka.  
  
Before long, they were out of sight. After a few more minutes of pause, most of the villagers returned to whatever they had been doing before.  
  
"Roxy!" Miri called out as she hurriedly strode over to her, "Are you okay?" The Audino picked her up and gave her a quick, comforting hug before placing her back on the ground.  
  
"Y-Yeah...I think so..." she murmured, though she found herself staring off at nothing as she did.  
  
"I am sorry that I left you...I did not think he would notice you."  
  
Roxy gulped, remembering just how close the dangerous-looking Excadrill had come towards her. She had felt her entire body cease to function the moment the tip of his claw touched her chin.  
  
"Roxy..." came the voice of Karizu, causing her to glance up at him, "Are you hurt? I am deeply sorry that you had to go through that..."  
  
She shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine...He didn't hurt me..."  
  
Karizu sighed and knitted his brow. "Roxy, you must forgive us. It is clear that none of us had yet informed you of our...'relationship' with the Earth Tribe."  
  
"Did Makari not mention them?" Miri chimed in.  
  
Roxy simply shook her head again.  
  
"The full moon was only a few days ago," Karizu continued, "Usually they do not come for their berries so soon after the full moon has passed. We would have told you, but we did not expect them yet..."  
  
"This happens every cycle of the moon...?" Roxy murmured. She knew that a full moon came approximately once a month, and they had given up a _lot_ of berries to the trio.   
  
Karizu nodded. "It can be difficult, but it has served us well thus far. Our fathers and grandfathers fought long, unwinnable battles against their tribe. There is simply no way for us to defeat them. With an agreement like this eliminating the need for any fighting at all, our two tribes can coexist peacefully...At least, _somewhat_ peacefully..."  
  
Roxy found herself glancing away again, troubled and deep in thought. "But, couldn't you have..." she started to say, but then stopped herself. She remembered the encyclopaedia's page on Pikachu, and went through all of the moves they could naturally learn. Offensively, they were all Normal- or Electric-type attacks. As Miri had said, the former was repelled by their tough skin, while the latter wouldn't work at all. Without trainers to tutor them new moves or use TM's, there really wasn't anything useful they could learn.  
  
She gulped, suddenly feeling quite vulnerable.  
  
"Are you sure you are okay?" Miri asked in concern.  
  
"I'll be fine..." she muttered, "I really thought he was gonna kill someone after Taka hit him..."  
  
"Mm..." Karizu added, "They are not supposed to come into contact with us at all, but Taka took a pretty bold step there..."  
  
"The Excadrill…He freaks me out…" Roxy muttered.  
  
"That is not difficult to believe."  
  
Roxy glanced off to the side, seeing that Taka was still standing nearby. She saw the other two turn to look as well.  
  
"There are things I must tend to," Karizu spoke, "If you need to speak with myself or the other Wise Ones, you are welcome to."  
  
Roxy nodded softly as the Raichu headed off. She found herself lost in thought.  
  
"Are you sure you will be all right?" Miri asked her.  
  
She paused before responding. "Y-yeah, it's fine…I'll be fine…"  
  
"Well, okay…"  
  
In the distance, Taka turned and began to walk away.  
  
"I gotta go…" Roxy said absentmindedly, turning to give Miri an apologetic smile and a wave before dashing off on all fours.  
  
"Oh! Okay. I will talk to you soon!" Miri called after her.  
  
Roxy realized she was probably being a little rude, but her brain was so muddled that it was difficult to get things sorted. She wasn't even entirely sure what exactly she was doing right now, but regardless she kept up her pace. It didn't take her long to catch up with the Pikachu warrior.  
  
"Taka!" she called out, making him stop and half-turn back towards her.  
  
"Mm…?"  
  
She stopped and panted a couple of times before sitting up on her hind legs. "I, uh…" she started to say, but the next words eluded her. As she searched for them, she found herself looking into the eyes of the hardened warrior, which were still just as distant and cold as ever. She thought about what he had just done, and what could have compelled him to do such a thing.  
  
"Thanks," she said at last.  
  
Taka didn't respond immediately.  
  
"I mean, uh…Thank you for that…For, y'know, with the Excadrill and…" Her thanks were sincere, as she truly didn't know what the Excadrill might have done if he hadn't intervened, but for some reason she found herself flummoxed. She glanced away and tried to form her words properly.  
  
"I did not do it for _you_."  
  
Roxy's eyes snapped back to his and she tilted her head slightly. "What…?"  
  
"I was not 'saving' you from Tazoka, if that is what you think," he said in a low tone, "If it had been another and not you, I would have done the same. I was enforcing a rule that others seemed to be too hesitant to act upon."  
  
Taka didn't even wait for a response before turning on his heels and walking away, leaving Roxy standing there feeling utterly confused. She stared after him, looking inside and out to try and find an answer to the enigma that was Taka. As always, she came up empty.  
  
"Um…Thanks anyway…" she whispered to no-one.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Oh, Roxy…I am so sorry! I wish I could have been there for you…"  
  
Roxy found herself sitting in the relative darkness of Makari's hut, lit only by the small torch-like stick. Makari was lying on his side on the floor, while Roxy was propped up against his midsection as if he were a pillow.  
  
She sighed. "It's okay…It wasn't your fault. Karizu said they came early for some reason."  
  
"He is right. This is unusual…"  
  
Roxy sighed, and then she felt Makari shift beneath her.  
  
"Please forgive me for not telling you sooner," he spoke, "So much else was going on, and I did not think they would show up until at least a few more days. I thought I had time."  
  
"It's fine, Makari. Really," Roxy replied, trying to reassure him that she wasn't mad, "I mean, nothing bad happened…"  
  
"Right."  
  
She turned her head to look at him, and he gazed back up at her with a smile.  
  
"They are not the friendliest Pokémon," Makari said, "but our tribes have lived without conflict for years and years. I know they can be frightening, but there is nothing to fear from them."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, it is true."  
  
Roxy couldn't bring herself to smile. "How long does it take you guys to get that many berries for them…?"  
  
Makari hesitated slightly. "Honestly, it does take up most of the moon's cycle, but the forest is bountiful so there is always plenty to go around."  
  
She nodded at that, remembering that Makari always seemed to have plenty of berries to share with her.  
  
"I am just sorry that I was on patrol when it happened."  
  
Roxy frowned. "You're on patrol a lot…" It was not an accusation, but rather just an observation.  
  
"Well…" Makari trailed off for a moment before saying, "Not to be boastful, but I am one of the most skilled warriors in this village. My skills are needed more often than others'."  
  
She glanced down at him once more, looking him in the eyes for a moment until, finally, she smiled. "That, I don't have a hard time believing…" she said, parroting what Karizu had said earlier.   
  
Makari's own smile brightened as soon as hers appeared.   
  
Unfortunately, so many thoughts had muddled her mind that her smile didn't last long. "That Excadrill, though…" she murmured, glancing away, "He was so scary, even though he was really quiet and calm."  
  
"Tazoka is older than most of us," Makari replied, "Though not so old as to slow him down. What I am saying is that he has seen a lot, been through a lot, and _learned_ a lot. His greatest strength is knowing how others think."  
  
Roxy felt an involuntary shiver pass through her body. "He came right up to me…He spoke in such a smooth, jazzy voice…and I just froze on the spot."  
  
Makari sighed and shook his head. "Well, the good news is that we will not see them again until the next full moon, so you may as well put them out of your mind."  
  
"Are you _sure_ about that?"  
  
"For years they have only shown up once a month. It is part of the agreement, after all. Roxy, you will not even have to think about them for quite a few weeks."  
  
Roxy considered this for a moment until she finally began to relax. "I guess, if you say so…"   
  
"Let us talk about something more pleasant."  
  
Conversation shifted to a number of other different topics as the early hours of the night passed by. Roxy tried her best to do what Makari had said and stop thinking about the Earth Tribe's visit, but for some reason she just couldn't. There was this nagging sensation in the back of her mind that told her something wasn't quite right, but she didn't know what.  
  
Soon enough, Roxy was walking over to her own bed as Makari laid his head down to sleep. She flopped down onto the soft grassy bedding, suddenly feeling quite exhausted.  
  
"Pleasant dreams."  
  
Roxy glanced over in the direction of her 'roommate'. He had already closed his eyes.  
  
"Yeah…You too…" Roxy murmured. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep as well. Despite how exhausted she felt, however, she found that she couldn't get to sleep. Her thoughts were jumping back and forth like a crazy Buneary, never giving her brain a chance to settle down and get some rest.  
  
Makari and the others talked of peace between their tribes, but…was it really peace? She wasn't sure if she could completely trust Tazoka or not, and hoped that she would never need to. Even if Tazoka was as calm and affable as he appeared to be, that still left his associates the Sandslash and the Graveler. Roxy got the feeling that the Excadrill was the only thing keeping those two in check.  
  
But beyond that, Roxy felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had completely frozen up as soon as enemies had appeared, even though they had turned out not to be enemies exactly. Obviously she didn't consider herself perfectly adept in self-defence yet, but today had just proven a sobering reality to her.  
  
Things changed once she left the safety of Taka and his training. When Taka struck out at her, she knew how to get into the proper stance and use her limbs and tail to fend off at least some attacks. Once the Excadrill had come close, it was as if she hadn't taken any lessons at all.  
  
Hours passed before she was finally able to get to sleep.


	10. Fever

A few days had passed since the visit of the Earth Tribe. On this particular morning, Roxy found herself waking up in tears.  
  
She gasped in confusion for a moment, feeling the tears staining her fur. There was a hurt deep in her heart, and at first she didn't know why. After her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw that she was still in the safety of Makari's hut, it hit her. Memories of what she had just been dreaming about returned to her.  
  
"Roxy…" Makari was at her side in an instant, laying a comforting paw across her shoulder.  
  
The distraught Pikachu shivered and let the tears flow for a few moments. This was nothing new. It was almost routine at this point. Sleep was never pleasant because it was always filled with dreams of home. In those distant, fleeting moments of subconsciousness she was back at home, safe in the loving comfort of her master's arms.  
  
To have that suddenly yanked away from her the moment she woke up was hard on her. Sometimes, it felt almost too painful to bear.  
  
"S-sorry…" Roxy murmured.  
  
"Now Roxy, what have I told you about apologizing for your emotions?"  
  
She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. "I miss her so much…" she lamented, "Every day, every night…I just wanna go home…"  
  
Makari let out a wistful breath. "I am sorry, Roxy…" he spoke softly, "I am so sorry…"  
  
A moment of poignant silence passed.  
  
"I just wish I could help you…"  
  
After it had felt like her moment of sadness had run its course, Roxy forced herself to get up and eat some breakfast. She didn't feel any happier, but knew that wallowing around would just make her feel worse. It was the early hours of dawn, and Taka would be expecting her soon.   
  
To her elation, Makari did not have patrol duty for the whole day and could join her. Roxy put as much pep in her step as she could, and the pair made their way directly towards the training area to begin the day.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"May I make a suggestion, Taka?"  
  
The Pikachu's ears twitched upon hearing his brother's voice, and he turned to regard Makari. "What?"  
  
"Roxy is making advancements in her self-defence skills, so perhaps we should test them?"  
  
Taka furrowed his brow. "Just what do you think I have been doing?"  
  
Makari chuckled and shook his head. "No, I have a better idea. What if _I_ sparred with her?"  
  
"You?" Taka replied, slightly incredulous.  
  
"What?" Roxy chirped at the same time.  
  
"Taka, there are many things you excel at, but 'going easy' is not one of them. I can prove to be a foe that can match Roxy's current skill level, and you can observe her without having to focus on yourself."  
  
Taka paused for a moment, but then put one of his paws to his chin. "Hmm…"  
  
Roxy glanced between them, feeling a little unsure. It was true that putting things into practice against Taka was difficult because he was so skilled, moved so fast, and hit so hard. However, the thought of _fighting_ against Makari, even if it was just practice, didn't sit well with her for some reason.  
  
"I suppose that is an acceptable idea," Taka said at last with a nod.  
  
"I am glad you agree. Shall we do it now?"  
  
"Yes. Begin at once."  
  
Roxy jumped slightly. "W-wait! What's happening…?"  
  
Makari held up his paws. "Relax, Roxy…I am going to pose as a…Well, as an 'easy' enemy. Just something to test what you have learned so far. I will not hurt you."  
  
"So, you…you want me to fight you…?" Roxy quivered just slightly.  
  
"Well, not really," Makari replied, "We just want you to defend yourself. We shall leave offense for another day."  
  
"Oh…Okay…" Roxy muttered, still feeling unsure of the whole situation.  
  
"Stand up straight, pet!" Taka barked, "Your foe is approaching. If he touches you, you _die_."  
  
"Aah! Um, okay…Uhh…"  
  
Roxy took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind as she got into a ready position. She tried to recall everything she had learned since Taka had started training her. She knew that the most important thing was to keep her eyes on her foe and watch closely for what would come next. Predicting, or in her case worrying about, the next move was less important than adapting and reacting to whatever did happen. Roxy's studious brain allowed her to remember all of the movements she was supposed to do. She also knew that staying 'bouncy' on her toes was key to keeping herself out of harm's reach.  
  
In her mind, Roxy knew what she was supposed to do. It was putting it into practice where things got difficult.  
  
Makari got into a ready stance as well and made his first move. Starting simple, he swiped towards her with a paw. It looked more like he was trying to give her an exaggerated pat on the shoulder, but Roxy understood the intent. She analyzed the situation as quickly as she could, ducked her head, and brought up her paws to catch his paw before it could hit her.  
  
He flashed a quick smile of approval at her, but quickly moved seamlessly into his next 'attack'. This time he went downwards, sort of like a punch to her gut. Roxy prepared herself to block, but something clicked in her brain and she realized that it would be better to dodge to the side instead. She shifted to the left, feeling his paw brush against her fur which told her she had been a bit too slow. This had obviously been his intent, however, as he grinned again.  
  
Roxy let out a breath. This was actually turning out okay. Makari wasn't moving slowly, but he wasn't moving as quickly as Taka did either. As he continued making strikes at her with his paws, she understood that he was using specific moves in order to test her whole pallet of self-defence moves. This was a lot easier to handle than Taka, who preferred to go all-out and often left her frazzled.  
  
Over time, Makari slowly began to speed up. Roxy did her best to mimic what Taka had taught her and continued to fend off Makari's various attacks. At one point he even purposefully baited her down onto all fours, forcing her to smack away his oncoming paw with her tail. The whole thing was a tad inorganic, but with every move she slowly began to gain more confidence in herself. These moves weren't so complicated after all. It was sort of like learning how to dance.  
  
She wasn't perfect, and Makari managed to lightly hit her a couple of times. Roxy found she had a really easy time performing all of these dodges and blocks, which was a pleasant surprise to her. Climbing trees and darting over her house's fence took more agility than this. Deciding which move to use within the span of a second or less was where she faltered. Roxy did not feel at all confident that she was ready to defend herself against a hungry predator, but she was starting to feel hopeful that, with enough practice, she might manage to get there one day.  
  
Something clattered to the ground beside them, startling them both. The two looked down to see that Makari had tossed them both blunt spears, and Roxy realized that he wanted her to practice defending with a weapon now. The two picked up the spears at the same time, and Roxy got back into a ready stance.  
  
Thus, the test continued. Roxy wasn't quite as good when it came to defending with a weapon in her paws, but she had still come quite a ways. Makari never really reached the speed with which an actual predator would be attacking her, but it was fast enough for Roxy to truly test what she had learned. She did her absolute best to keep herself from being hit with Makari's spear, no matter what she had to do. Honestly, though, getting hit by Makari wasn't nearly as demoralizing as getting hit by Taka.  
  
By the end, Roxy was quite winded. She was feeling elated, however. By a rough estimation, she had managed to block, dodge or parry at least three quarters of Makari's strikes. Roxy took a moment to give herself credit and pat herself on the back. She was learning and she was improving. Maybe she _could_ learn to fight. Panting, she glanced over at Makari to see he was giving her a warm smile.  
  
Suddenly, something jumped down in front of her and let out a screech, raising its limbs up to attack. Roxy screamed in terror and ducked her head down, cowering beneath her paws.  
  
After a moment, instead of being attacked, Roxy heard a sigh. Cautiously, she peered up from between her paws. There was no deadly predator standing in front of her. Instead, it was a very annoyed-looking Taka. Roxy slowly stood back up and glanced around in confusion. She realized that Taka must have climbed one of the nearby trees and jumped down suddenly in front of her.  
  
Roxy's terror quickly turned to irritation. She gave Taka a cross look and stomped one of her hind paws, trying to hide the rosy flush of her embarrassment. "T-Taka!" she exclaimed, trying to sound frustrated, "What was that for??"  
  
Taka was giving her a flat look. "You have learned to perform a collection of moves. Congratulations."  
  
Roxy skewed her lips. Not a word of that had sounded congratulatory.  
  
"If I had been an enemy, however, none of that would have helped you. You would have been dead before you could take another breath."  
  
A shiver ran up her spine, like it did every time Taka talked about her death so casually. "Wh…What d'you mean?"  
  
"I _mean_ that you _still_ have not learned one of the most important things about combat and self-defence. Practicing the theory is one thing, but when something catches you off guard you still freeze up and cower like a newborn cub."  
  
Roxy stared at him, mouth open but no words coming out. She realized that he was right. She hadn't been able to recall a single thing she had learned once Tazoka had been staring her down. "But…" she murmured. She then turned to look pleadingly over at Makari, but the Pikachu simply had a small frown on his face.  
  
"To survive," Taka continued, "you require _instinct_. You have none. Predators will not walk up to you and request a friendly duel to the death. A fight for your life will usually start with someone else sneaking up on your back. When the tides shift from calm to danger in the blink of an eye, you need to be able to rely on your instincts to quickly adapt to the situation and keep yourself alive."  
  
"I…But…" Roxy muttered, trying to think of what to say. She could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd thought she had done really well in that training exercise against Makari. Now, all of her elation was gone. "But how am I supposed to train something like _that_??"  
  
Taka glanced at her for a moment before he simply shook his head. "It is not something that can be taught," he explained, "Perhaps you can figure it out on your own…Most, however, are born with it. It is as simple as the fact that Pichu are born with a sense of instinct, from the moment they take their first breath."  
  
Without awaiting a response, Taka began to trudge off towards one of the overturned logs at the edge of the training area, whereupon he sat down and faced away from them.  
  
"…I was born a Pichu…" she murmured.  
  
Makari stepped over to her and laid a paw across her shoulders. "I do not wish to be negative, Roxy, but he is right."  
  
Roxy groaned and stared down at the ground.  
  
"Do not give up, though. Things will work out."  
  
"How'm I s'posed to learn that…?"  
  
There was a noticeable pause before Makari replied. "I am afraid I do not know."  
  
Roxy simply sat down on the ground in a huff.  
  
Makari stepped around in front of her. "By the looks of things, Taka wants you to take a break. Wait here, and I will go fetch some berries okay?"  
  
It was nearly midday, and Roxy was just noticing her stomach starting to growl. She gazed up and tried to smile at Makari, but her spirits weren't in the best of places right now. "Okay, Makari," she said, "Thanks."  
  
With that, Makari wandered off, leaving Roxy alone in the training area with Taka. She sat there in silence, mulling over her thoughts. Whether it was deserved or not, Taka had effectively drained any sense of accomplishment from her rather successful test. After a few minutes in thought, though, she realized that they were both right. She had completely frozen in fear when confronted by Tazoka. The thought of predators, much less fighting them, still gave her crippling anxiety and made her feel sick to her stomach.  
  
She glanced over at Taka. He was still an enigma to her. The two rarely interacted outside of her training sessions, and those were always chock full of tension and animosity. Roxy had no reason to hate Taka and wanted to smooth things over with him, but it was as if Taka had built a wall. She wasn't sure if the whole situation was more disheartening or frustrating.  
  
Roxy got to her paws. With his recent actions fresh in her mind, she had decided that she needed some answers.   
  
"Taka?"  
  
The Pikachu glanced over towards where she was standing nearby. His eyes said that he was listening, but his mouth uttered no words.  
  
Roxy hesitated slightly, the creeping feeling of stage fright briefly overcoming her. She glanced away for a moment to collect her thoughts, then sighed and started to speak. "Look, I…I know you hate me. I can't say I fully understand why, you probably aren't gonna tell me, and I'm probably not gonna change much. Whatever, though. It's fine I guess…"  
  
Taka arched an eyebrow.  
  
"So why…" Roxy frowned. "Why do you still keep teaching me?"  
  
For what seemed like a really long time, the two simply stared at one another. Taka didn't move a muscle, which made Roxy feel very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what to do with herself until he finally answered.  
  
"Because you continue to show up every day."  
  
Roxy blinked in confusion. "…Huh?"  
  
"I respect dedication. No, I do not like who and what you are, but I appreciate your desire to _change_ this."  
  
Taka then turned away and returned to whatever he had been doing, leaving Roxy standing somewhat awkwardly.  
  
"Oh…" she murmured, unsure of what to make of such a response. She stood there for a moment, wondering if she should say something else, when Taka suddenly stood up. He walked over to the area where some of the weapons were laying and picked one up. He tossed the spear to Roxy, who yelped in surprise before barely catching it before it hit the ground.  
  
She gazed down at the weapon. This wasn't like what she had been using so far. This was a full-length spear, and it was topped with an actual sharp point. In truth it looked a little dull, probably for training purposes, but it would still hurt a _lot_ if she got hit with it.  
  
Roxy then gazed up at Taka, who said, "I say we move on. Let us practice some offensive moves."  
  
She looked down at the spear in her paws once more, feeling a wave of trepidation. She could feel a familiar sense of anxiety sweeping in. Her mind was asking doubtfully if she was ready for this.   
  
One more gaze up at Taka, however, steeled her nerves a little more. He _was_ a good teacher, even if he was a little brash. As her teacher, Roxy needed to trust him. "Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
Taka half-rolled his eyes and replied, "We will start with the _basics_." The way he spoke the last word hit Roxy's ears as if he had said 'super-easy basics for baby cubs'.  
  
With a slow, calming exhale, Roxy tried her best to clear her mind. She told herself that there would be plenty of time to worry later. Now, she was in a relatively safe environment with a Pokémon that, despite all outward appearances, was trying to help her.  
  
"Adopt your stance," Taka instructed.  
  
Roxy nodded, trying to remember what stance she had taken in previous lessons with the short spear. When it was clear in her mind, she got ready and lifted one hind paw off the ground.  
  
"I'm back!"  
  
Roxy faltered slightly in surprise, nearly losing her balance. She glanced behind her to see that Makari was back with another pouch of assorted berries.  
  
She heard Taka groan from behind her. " _Must_ you, Makari?"  
  
Makari gave his brother a flat look. "Yes, I _must_. Roxy has not eaten since the sun rose. It is time for some nutrition."  
  
Roxy glanced back at Taka, and saw that he looked rather irritated. Aside from a quiet growl, however, he said nothing.  
  
Makari rolled his eyes while smiling good-naturedly. "I promise we will be quick," he said, holding back a chuckle, "Come, Roxy. Have three and then continue."  
  
Roxy's stomach answered for her, growling rather loudly and making her cheeks flush slightly. "Heh…" she chuckled awkwardly, "Thanks, Makari." She gave him a warm, grateful smile before stepping towards him. She reached in with her paws and picked up two berries, a Leppa and a Wepear.   
  
She and Makari sat down, happily munching on berries and letting the sweet, succulent, juicy fruit fill their stomachs. The Leppa tickled her taste buds in just the perfect way to make her smile brightly.  
  
Roxy could feel the impatient eyes of Taka boring into the back of her head, but she ignored it.  
  
She did, however, try to eat as quickly as she dared without giving herself a cramp. She _was_ supposed to be learning after all and didn't want to keep her teacher waiting.  
  
Then, she reached in and picked up a random third berry. She was about to eat it, but paused once she got a good look at it. "What is this…?" she asked, gazing at the fruit. It was unlike any berry she had ever seen before. It was shaped almost like a rounded cube, but with a point at the bottom.   
  
"That is known as _Drash_."  
  
"A 'Drash Berry'?" Roxy repeated the word with a confused tone. She could remember almost all of the berries that had been listed in her master's encyclopaedia, but she had never seen or heard of this one before.  
  
Makari nodded. "They grow near the river. Some say they can cure fatigue and illness."  
  
"Huh…" Roxy turned it over in her paws and examined it. "Is it good? What does it taste like?"  
  
Before Makari could respond, the air was filled with the sound of Taka loudly clearing his throat. Roxy flinched slightly and quickly got the message that he was getting impatient. She quickly bit into the pink berry.  
  
It wasn't bad. Quite crisp and crunchy, but with a mild taste and just a hint of spiciness. It certainly wouldn't make her favourites list, but it was quite edible. She finished it off, quickly thanked Makari for the meal, and then turned back towards Taka.  
  
"Okay," she said, already feeling invigorated, "Let's do this!"  
  
From there, Taka spent about ten minutes instructing Roxy on how to properly hold the spear in her paws. Roxy paid full attention, not wanting to miss anything. The faster she learned, the less time she would spend feeling the aches of failure. She was so focused that she almost didn't notice the sky darkening.  
  
Eventually, though, she turned her head up towards the canopy to see what was happening. She was greeted with a raindrop directly between her eyes. "Ack!" she cried out in surprise.  
  
Like the rainstorm that had assaulted her on that fateful day a few weeks ago, this one started just as suddenly. Moments later, the whole forest fell victim to a heavy torrent of rain from the dark clouds above. It cascaded down like a raging waterfall from the heavens, utterly drenching the whole forest in seconds.  
  
Including her.  
  
At first, Roxy felt herself reacting the same way as before. She still _hated_ the rain, and her first instinct was still to get out of it as quickly as possible. She lost her focus as the rain started pounding down on her, causing her to glance wildly around as she subconsciously looked for a safe haven.  
  
She caught herself though, and turned to look back at Taka. Again, he was seemingly unfazed by the sudden arrival of the rain. It looked like he didn't even notice it. He was, however, giving her a skeptical look with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Roxy stood there for a moment and tried to calm down. Her thoughts had all shifted to feelings of misery and disgust. Her now-soaking wet fur chilled her and made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. She still felt that need, that burning desire, to get away from the rain in any way possible.  
  
Instead, she shook her head.   
  
Her first step was to force herself to stay put. She had already been learning how to force herself to do things she didn't want to do, so that was relatively easy. The difficult step was to make herself _accept_ the rain. She could stay out in it, sure, but it was a different story when she needed to ignore it and focus on her training.   
  
It was cold, it was wet and it was absolutely miserable. How was she supposed to focus when she was feeling like this?  
  
Nevertheless, Roxy knew that she had to try.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Tighten up your grip, Roxy! You have almost perfected it!"  
  
Roxy grit her teeth in determination, narrowed her eyes at the target sitting before her, and let out a huff of breath. She silently encouraged herself, repeating the words endlessly in her mind. _You can do this. You can do this!_ She set her hind paws in the ground and readied herself. Learning basic slashes and stabs with the spear had been the easy part, at least relatively, and now she had moved onto the first really 'big' move.   
  
Roxy kept her eyes locked on her target, difficult though it was to keep her vision clear. Her fur was soaked from the rain that continued to pour down all around her. It seemed like the downpour would never end.  
  
"Yes, Roxy! Yes! Keep at it!"  
  
"Makari, _shut up!_ "  
  
Roxy tried to block out the sound of the two brothers arguing. She just had to focus on doing what she had learned. It was easy. Simple! Cub's play! It was just a leap into the air and then a driving _plunge_ straight downward. Anyone could do it.  
  
Clearly, Roxy's attempts at psyching herself out weren't working that well.  
  
"I can do it…" she murmured, going for the simpler approach. The sooner she did this, the sooner the lesson would be over and the sooner she could go inside.  
  
After one more moment's pause, Roxy took off running. She built up speed for only about five steps before nimbly leaping up. She held the spear up like she had been taught, with the sharp end pointed forwards, and then shifted it so that it was pointed straight down. She aimed it towards the target below her and let gravity do the rest.  
  
 _Shunk!_  
  
Roxy felt the impact of the spear as it punctured the wood and then slid right in. She landed on the ground and looked down to see the result of her attack. The head of the spear was completely sunken inside of the wood of the target.  
  
"Hah…!" she huffed, "I did it…!"  
  
"Good job, Roxy!" Makari cheered.  
  
She turned around to face the other Pikachu, the mere action flinging drops of water everywhere, and smiled at Makari. "Thanks!"  
  
Taka was silent for a moment, but then spoke. "That was not bad. Passable."  
  
It wasn't exactly the greatest compliment, but Roxy took it. "Thanks, Taka…I think I'll be able to get better at it…" She stood there for a moment, panting and reflecting on what she had just accomplished. It had almost been like learning an acrobatic move or something. In some small way, it was even just a little bit fun to do.  
  
Makari had stopped smiling, and Roxy was quick to notice. "What?" she asked.  
  
"Taka, that is enough for today."  
  
Taka shot his brother a look.  
  
"She needs to get inside. Look how she shivers."  
  
Roxy blinked, but then glanced down at herself. She _was_ shivering, and quite a bit too. She was struck by how she had almost not even noticed. Now that she wasn't focused on other things, though, she realized that she was _freezing_.  
  
Taka looked like he was about to shoot Makari's request down, but after a few seconds he relented and shrugged his paws. "Fine…" was all that he said before standing up, turning around, and unceremoniously departing.  
  
Makari wasted no time in rushing to her side. "Come on," he said, placing a paw across her shoulder and beginning to lead her along, "Back to my hut."  
  
"O-okay…" she murmured, "I _am_ feeling kinda worn out…" She allowed herself to be guided by Makari's gentle paw as they walked through the rain-soaked forest village back to Makari's hut. Training had gone on for most of the day, and it had rained heavily the entire time. At some point, Roxy had just gotten numb to it.  
  
"Taka really wore you out, hm?" Makari asked, commenting on her sluggish pace.  
  
"Heh, yeah I guess…" she replied. In general, she just felt sort of weak, which was to be expected after a long day of training. Oh, what she wouldn't give to spend a few hours in her master's hot tub.  
  
"Well, come on," Makari urged her, "My hut is right over there. Let us get out of the rain."  
  
"Yeah, let's…"  
  
Finally, they reached the door of Makari's dwelling, Makari took a moment to shake the water out of his fur before entering, but Roxy felt too lethargic to do so. Once she was inside and seated on the ground, Makari handed her one of the woven grass towels. She used it to dry herself off, taking a moment to appreciate just how well the primitive huts were able to keep the rain out. It was pretty much dry as a bone inside.  
  
"Thanks…" Roxy half-whispered as she dropped the wet towel at her side.  
  
"My pleasure, Roxy," Makari replied, "You have done such a good job today, Roxy. Just relax for a few minutes, and then I will get us both some food."  
  
"Mkay…"  
  
For some time, Roxy just sat there and stared ahead at nothing. She felt incredibly lethargic and worn out, but she didn't really feel tired. She was still cold and shivering a little from being in the rain, but it felt like there was something else. She furrowed her brow, wondering if something was wrong with her.  
  
Minutes passed and she continued to sit still while Makari moved about in the background. She began to notice a few more things, such as her mouth becoming dry. She felt a weird chill run through her body that had nothing to do with her damp fur. She started to get worried. She was beginning to feel a growing sensation that there was _something_ not quite right with her.  
  
Makari said something that she didn't hear.  
  
"N'huh? Wha?" she said, turning to look at him. Doing so gave her a cramp in her abdomen that made her wince.  
  
"I was asking if you wanted more Leppas, or something else?"  
  
"Oh…" Roxy took a moment and considered the choice, but neither option sounded very appealing to her. Not even her favourite Leppas sounded very appetizing. "I…I don'…" she murmured, realizing that she didn't feel hungry at all. Thinking about food was making her feel sick.  
  
"…Roxy?"  
  
"I don't think I'm…hungry…"  
  
Makari was at her side. "Roxy, are you okay?"  
  
She was about to say 'yes', but all of her confidence in that answer drained out in a second. She simply shook her head.  
  
"What is the matter?" Makari asked in a caring and concerned voice, "What do you feel?"  
  
Roxy hadn't been sure about it before, but now the exact nature of her malady was becoming clear. She grimaced as she brought a paw down to her abdomen and held it there. "M…My tummy…"  
  
Makari's eyes shot down to where her paw was. "Your stomach hurts?"  
  
She nodded slowly. "And I feel…"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"…weird."  
  
Makari leant down next to her and placed one of his paws over her stomach. Roxy winced. "Does it hurt?" he asked.  
  
"Mnnnh…" she groaned, shutting her eyes and leaning forward so that she could clutch her abdomen with her paws.  
  
"Do you just have a stomach ache?" Makari wondered out loud.  
  
"No…" Roxy muttered, "Something's…wrong…"  
  
Fear started to course through her body. She'd had her fair share of stomach aches over the years, usually from eating too many Poké Puffs, but this was different. There was a pain in her stomach that was different from a stomach ache, but she had no idea how to explain the difference. Coupled with the way she felt, including the chills and tiredness, told her that something was definitely wrong.  
  
Makari placed one of the blankets over her back, but it didn't help very much. It still felt like there were living raindrops moving around under her skin. She moaned in distress.  
  
"I, uh…Uh…" Makari was saying.  
  
Roxy slowly turned to look at him, giving herself a dizzy spell in the process. He was pacing about, looking a little frazzled and perhaps even stressed out. There was a worried look on his face, and he looked like he wasn't sure what to do. Roxy watched, fascinated. Makari was usually so calm and collected, giving off the impression that he had all of the answers.  
  
"We should, uh…" he started to say, but then something seemed to occur to him. He walked over to the hut's doorway and peeked outside. Roxy could tell by the sound that it was still raining heavily  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
"Mmnn…?"  
  
"I am going to find Miri and bring her here, okay? That would be better than having you walk through the rain. That means I will have to leave you alone for a short time, okay? I promise I will be quick."  
  
That sounded like a perfectly reasonable course of action, yet Roxy still felt a sudden spike of fear drive itself right through her heart. Even though she knew better, it sounded to her anxiety-ridden mind like Makari was suggesting he abandon her. Pain from her stomach rippled through her body, making her wince and moan in pain once more.  
  
"Miri will be able to help you, and her hut is not far."  
  
Roxy raised her head slightly and looked up at the other Pikachu. There was an unexplainable worry clouding her mind, and it showed in her expression. Roxy realized that she didn't want him to go anywhere. She didn't want him to leave at all.  
  
"O…Okay…" she spoke, her voice low and hoarse. Roxy knew that she was being silly, so why did saying that make her tremble with fear.  
  
"I will be quick," Makari repeated as he turned to head out the door, "Just stay here and…and try to breathe, okay? Keep breathing."  
  
With that, Makari was gone. Roxy was left alone in the hut with only the sound of the pouring rain and Makari's blanket to keep her company.  
  
Roxy could feel the distant rumbling of panic, but she tried to take a few deep breaths and calm herself down. She told herself that there was nothing to worry about, and that Makari would be back before she knew it.  
  
Still, though, she couldn't help but reflect on what had just happened. She had never seen Makari like that before. This was the first time she had seen him so shaken by something.  
  
Roxy groaned in pain as she pulled the blanket tighter around her. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that her stomach was on fire and her head felt woozy, not to mention the fact that she was shivering like crazy.  
  
Luckily, time seemed to pass in a quick haze and Makari soon returned with Miri in tow. They were both dripping wet from the rain outside. Miri wasted no time in leaning down next to Roxy.  
  
She repeated her symptoms to the Audnio, who listened closely while also gently examining Roxy with her paws. She felt Roxy's forehead and stomach, and Roxy winced when she pressed her paws into her abdomen slightly.  
  
"It is your stomach, and not lower. Right?" Miri was asking.  
  
By this point, Roxy was lying on her side and clutching her midsection with her paws. She moaned instead of replying, but nodded her head.  
  
"What did she eat…?" Roxy heard Miri ask Makari. She didn't listen to anything else, though. She simply laid her head down on the ground, shut her eyes, and tried to endure the pain.  
  
It had only gotten worse, and now it was nearly unbearable. It felt like there was a pack of Fire-types going wild in the pit of her stomach. She was vaguely aware of Miri asking her a few more questions, which she answered as best she could, but not much else besides the pain.  
  
Time seemed to move strangely, like the world had shifted into a dreamscape. At some point she had been moved onto the bedding and was resting under one of the blankets. The dim light of the evening had morphed into the flickering light of the small torch. Despite how much pain she was in, Roxy could feel herself slipping in and out of full consciousness.   
  
Roxy had often been terrified during this whole ordeal, but this was a new kind of terror. There are few words to describe the sheer horror of knowing there is something wrong inside of one's body, and not knowing what it is.  
  
At some point in the night, she was jolted awake by a greenish glow and a weird sound. Whatever it was seemed to envelop her. Weakly, she tilted her head slightly to see Miri standing nearby with her paws held up.  
  
"Will that help…?" a voice asked. She was pretty sure it was Makari's.  
  
"It should…Although, there is nothing I can do for her pain…"  
  
"Are…Are you sure?"  
  
"I am."  
  
There was a sigh that almost sounded mournful.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It was the worst night of Roxy's life.  
  
It felt like being trapped in a nightmare that she could almost escape, but just not quite. For hours upon hours that seemed to blur together, all she could remember was pain and discomfort. Memories of the world around her were dizzied and skewed. She honestly couldn't tell if she had slept through the whole night, or had not gotten any sleep at all.  
  
Only when morning arrived did things start to get better. Roxy woke up to the relative warmness of the sun's rays. She still felt just as dizzy and disoriented, she could still feel herself shivering and sweating, and she still felt sick to her stomach.  
  
However, there was no _pain_ in her stomach. That, at least, had gone away.  
  
"Are you awake…?" Makari's voice floated to her from somewhere nearby.  
  
Roxy mumbled something unintelligible in response.  
  
"Here…"   
  
Something was gently pressed against her muzzle. Roxy thought she could smell berries. Was Makari trying to feed her? Her mind was in too much of a haze to deduce much else, so she opened her mouth. A small berry, one small enough to fit into her mouth, was gently urged in. Roxy focused on chewing it and swallowing it. She hardly noticed the taste at all.  
  
"Is your stomach better?"  
  
"Mnnnnnnnnnn…"  
  
"N…No…?"  
  
Roxy could hear the anguish in his voice. It sounded like he had just lost something that he had worked really hard on. It was as if victory had been snatched right out from under his muzzle. It broke her heart to hear him so distressed.  
  
"S…S-st…Tummy…dussn'hurt…" she murmured, sounding drunk in the process.   
  
"Huh…?" Makari replied, leaning down a little closer, "Your stomach does _not_ hurt?"  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
"Oh…! W-well, that is wonderful!" Makari started to say in a somewhat elated voice, but his enthusiasm quickly died. "But, you are still feeling ill…"  
  
Roxy moaned and closed her eyes, though she could still feel the world spinning around her. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she felt so weak and she couldn't stop shivering. There were alarm bells going off about every single part of her body, but she just felt so dizzy and confused that all she could so was lie there and moan.  
  
She opened her eyes to see a blurry image of Miri standing next to Makari. When had _she_ gotten there? Roxy wondered if Miri had always been there, or if she had dozed off and hadn't even realized it. The two were talking to each other, but she was too out of it to understand what they were saying. Only one thing was for sure to her.  
  
Makari sounded _very_ worried.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The whole day passed like one long fever dream. Moments of wakefulness blended together with fleeting moments of sleep. It all rolled together into one confusing, stressful ball of mayhem in her mind. Nothing in her body felt right. She was almost convinced that she had caught some rare jungle disease and was going to die, yet her mind was so muddled that she hardly cared.  
  
At least her stomach didn't hurt anymore.  
  
The day continued into the evening, and soon night had fallen once more. Roxy was still swimming through half-alertness and dizzying mental imagery. She was lying under three blankets, yet she was still shivering. She barely had any idea what was going on. It felt like the world was ending or something.  
  
Soon, the last rays of light disappeared. Roxy was at least aware that she was still lying in Makari's hut. Or, at least, _someone's_ hut. She was pretty sure it was a hut anyway. Her mind was muddled, her body was totally sick, and she was really scared.  
  
The blankets were nice, though. Despite how primitive they were in their creation, they still managed to warm her up. She was lying next to something, and whatever it was acted as an anchor while her world twisted and tilted around her. Maybe her master could go over to Miri's hut and pick up something to settle her nauseous stomach. Roxy was so thankful for the hot water bottle she had been given. It really helped.  
  
Roxy was only vaguely aware that her worlds were starting to blend together.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Finally, blissfully, the next morning arrived and Roxy awoke feeling much better. She opened her eyes, moaned softly, and then yawned. Her head still felt a little clouded, but most of her symptoms had at least started to abate.   
  
Roxy yawned again and stretched out her four paws, feeling that she was still beneath the blankets. By this point they were starting to feel a little stuffy, though she was a little too tired to bother removing them. She simply sighed and let out a quiet groan. Her head was throbbing and she felt really weak, but compared to before she was feeling leagues better.  
  
It was nice and relaxing under the blankets, if perhaps a little bit too warm. Roxy simply laid there for a few minutes, feeling a sense of calmness return. The last day and a half were a total blur to her. All she could remember was that she had gotten _very_ sick.  
  
When she finally felt the urge to move, Roxy started by slowly trying to roll onto her back. She was still sleeping against something, which she could feel against her back. She struggled for a moment beneath the heavy blanket as she rolled, and then she completely froze.  
  
That 'something' against her back had _fur_.  
  
Panic briefly spiked through her mind as she cycled through all of the horrible things that could have been there. Thankfully, that only lasted for a brief second, after which she calmed down and felt her fear being replaced by confusion. Was someone on the bed with her? She rolled herself completely onto her back and pushed the top half of the blankets off of her, after which her eyes darted to her companion.  
  
It was Makari. He was curled up and lying next to her on the bed beneath the blankets. He was lying on his stomach, but the side of his body was pressed up against hers. Roxy paused for a moment and stared at this, trying to process just what it meant.  
  
A number of possibilities occurred to her. A few of them made her cheeks turn rosy.  
  
She was stuck for a moment in complete confusion, unsure of what to do and whether or not to wake him up, when the decision was made for her. Suddenly, catching her by complete surprise, she sneezed.  
  
It made her head spin slightly for about a second. She tactfully wiped the bridge of her muzzle with her paw, and then looked down at Makari once more. The other Pikachu was starting to stir. Truth be told, Roxy was happy to see him there and especially for him to be the first one she saw after being so sick. It was just like how he had been there on the first night she had woken up in the village.  
  
Makari's eyes fluttered open and he yawned. "Mmm…" he mumbled, "R'ksy…?"  
  
"Makari…?" Her voice still sounded 'sick', and it was almost a whole octave lower than usual.  
  
Wakefulness returned to Makari rather quickly as his eyes locked with hers and he saw that she was awake. He smiled in excitement and quickly sat up next to her. "You are awake!" he quietly exclaimed, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Better…" she muttered. Roxy tried to sit up, but it felt like her muscles were too weak to do much of anything. Seeing this, Makari took her forepaws in his and gently helped her up.  
  
"You _look_ better," he replied, "Oh, this is wonderful!"  
  
Roxy fought off the brief wave of dizziness upon sitting up, and then turned to gaze at Makari who was now sitting right in front of her. A moment later, her lips curled into a smile. "Yeah… I feel a lot better…"  
  
She squeaked in surprise because, a moment later, Makari suddenly leaned in for a surprise hug. She found herself staring forward, wide-eyed. Suddenly, she felt a lot warmer and it had nothing to do with the warmth of the hug. It took her brain a moment to process this, but it soon decided that it was enjoying the sensation of warmness and closeness.  
  
Makari moved back and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he spoke, "I am just really happy to see that you are okay."  
  
Roxy gazed at him. He was smiling, but she could see the lingering worry in his eyes. He looked like he wasn't entirely convinced that she was going to be okay or something. "I'm…I'm fine," she replied with a reassuring smile, "Although…I don't even know what happened to me."  
  
Her companion frowned. "Everyone was worried," he said, "I am not afraid to admit that I was frightened. You were in so much pain, yet you seemed delirious as well. It happened so suddenly that it caught us off guard."  
  
Roxy glanced away, shivering at the few horrible memories she did have. "I remember…losing my appetite and getting a really bad stomach ache."  
  
Makari nodded. "It got worse and worse…You were writhing on the floor in pain. I…" He too glanced away. "I did not know what to do."  
  
She returned her gaze to him, gulping.  
  
"I brought in Miri to use her healing abilities, but they are more suited to physical injuries. She was able to help somewhat, but then you really began to fall ill. You were freezing cold, and you did not seem to respond to anyone. It was as if you could not even hear me…"  
  
"Oh gosh…"  
  
"I was…I was _very_ worried for you."  
  
Roxy smiled and reached forward to place a paw on his shoulder. "I'm okay now, though…I just feel a little crappy, and that should hopefully get better."  
  
Makari turned to look at her and smiled as a brief moment of silence passed.  
  
"Did…you figure out what was wrong with me?"  
  
His expression fell slightly. "We are…not completely sure. Miri suspects that, for whatever reason, it was the Drash Berry that made your stomach hurt."  
  
Roxy perked up slightly, suddenly remembering the strange berry that she had eaten. "The Drash Berry…" she murmured, mulling this over.  
  
"It was the only thing out of the ordinary that you had eaten."  
  
"Do a lot of them grow here?"  
  
Makari tilted his head slightly. "Yes…Why?"  
  
Roxy nodded her head. "I guess that makes sense…Drash Berries don't grow where I live. They must be native to around here. My digestive system probably wasn't prepared for the 'strange new' food. It happened to my master once when we visited Hoenn. Who knows? Maybe I lack an enzyme that your clan have developed over the years. I should have been a bit more careful."  
  
"I…" Makari blinked. "Wow…That is very insightful…"  
  
"Well…" Roxy replied with a shrug, "I'm not a doctor or anything…" She paused and then asked something else. "But…I had something more than a bad case of food poisoning."  
  
Makari nodded. "Indeed. Miri noticed how cold you were. She says that you were out in the rain for too long."  
  
"Ohh…" Roxy nodded again, "I might've caught a fever or a bug…Maybe even mild hypothermia?" She closed her eyes and shook her head. " _Ugh!_ That was awful…" She turned to look at Makari, only to find that he had a strange expression on his face. She frowned and tilted her head. "What?"  
  
"I…" he spoke, "I am just so grateful that you are going to be okay." There was a very distressed look on his face. "I… _truly_ thought we were going to lose you."  
  
Roxy started. "Wh-what??" she quietly exclaimed, looking at him with wide eyes, "What do you mean? I got really sick, but I wasn't gonna…die." She paused. "…Was I?"  
  
Makari fixed her with a grim expression. "Roxy…" he spoke, "In the wild…Most who get sick do not survive."  
  
There was a moment of silence, in which Roxy felt her whole sense of security shattering around her. She found herself staring ahead at nothing. "What…?"  
  
"That is simply the way of nature," he said, "Only the strong survive."  
  
Roxy shot her gaze back to him. "But…But you…" she was about to argue against him, to express her disbelief in his claim and to provide all of the reasons why he was wrong. However, the reality slowly began to dawn on her, and it drew her breath away.  
  
Out here, there were no Pokémon Centers. There were no doctors or veterinarians, or anyone with even basic training in first aid. There was no medicine, nothing like bandages, and no medical tools. Aside from Miri, there was nothing out here to stave off injury and illness aside from her own self.   
  
A shiver ran through her body. Roxy thought about the worst thing that had happened to her medically, and the answer soon followed. During the last year that she had been a Pichu, she had caught an extremely bad strain of some virus. She had been throwing up for about a week, couldn't leave the house, and was on both painkillers and a horrible-tasting antiviral medicine.  
  
If that had happened while she was out here, then there was no doubt in her mind. She would be dead.  
  
"Oh heavens…" she whispered. As if she didn't have enough to worry about, this was a whole new huge thing to be afraid of. If she broke her leg or caught pneumonia or something, what would her chances be _then_?  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
She turned to look at the other Pikachu.  
  
"I am sorry. I did not mean to make you worry." He cleared his throat and then smiled at her. "I am just happy that you are getting better. We must think about the positives."  
  
"Y-yeah…" Roxy said as she closed her eyes, trying to use what she had taught herself to rid herself of the worries, "You're right. I guess I got pretty lucky, huh?"  
  
Makari nodded once she opened her eyes.   
  
"But, I guess I worried you guys as well…" she said, "It's nice to know you all cared, though."  
  
"You may still be a bit of a stranger to some of us, but everyone has gotten to know you, and everyone was afraid for you. No-one wanted the worst to happen, and especially not I."  
  
A smile crept onto her face. "Aww, Makari…"  
  
"I stayed by your side as much as I could, only leaving to fetch Miri. Maybe you were too sick to know I was there, but still I wanted you to somehow know that I was there for you. You have survived in this unfamiliar location for this long, and I was not going to let illness take you from us."  
  
Roxy was enraptured by what he was saying. "Wow…" she whispered, "You…You were there the _whole_ time?"  
  
Makari nodded.  
  
Roxy gazed off for a moment as vague, cloudy memories started to come to her. In her few, fleeting moments of lucidness, she could recall someone being there in the hut with her. "Makari, I…" she spoke, "I don't know what to say…"  
  
"Well, there is no need to thank me. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."  
  
"Is, uh…" Roxy mumbled, "Is that why you…?" Instead of finishing her question, she glanced down towards the bed she was sleeping on.  
  
"Yes," Makari replied simply, "Even with the blankets, you seemed cold. I thought I would try sharing my body heat."  
  
Her gaze snapped back up to him. "Oh," she said, "… _Oh_! Oh, okay. Heh…" She chuckled a bit and scratched the back of her neck.  
  
"I hope I did not alarm you when you awoke…" he said with a frown.  
  
"No, no!" Roxy quickly replied, waving her forepaws in front of her, "No, you didn't. No. It's just…Y'know…" She trailed off.  
  
Makari tilted his head for a moment. He looked like he was about to respond, but then the two heard the noise of leaves rustling. They both immediately glanced towards the doorway, where the hanging leaves had been parted.  
  
Roxy was surprised to see Taka poking his head in. He glanced to one side, not seeing either of them, but then turned his head in their direction. His eyes widened just a fraction when he set his gaze upon her. He hesitated for a brief moment, and then turned and left without saying a word.  
  
Makari and Roxy glanced back at one another. "Heh…" Makari said with a bit of a smirk, "He kept acting like he did not care, but…" His gaze drifted to the doorway. "He was worried about you."  
  
"He was…?" Roxy spoke, "How do you know?"  
  
Makari turned back to her and winked. "I know," was all he said.  
  
Roxy thought about this for a moment. Taka _worried_ about her? It almost seemed too fantastic to be true. After another moment or so, Roxy sneezed once more.  
  
"Are you okay?" Makari immediately asked.  
  
Roxy sniffled and replied, "Yeah…I'll be icky for a few days, but I'm fine…"  
  
A big, warm smile appeared on his face. "Okay," he said, "I am just so glad that you are getting better. Truly I am, Roxy…We _all_ are."  
  
"Th-thanks…" Roxy muttered, flushing a little bit.  
  
"I should go get Miri. She will probably want to see you. Will you be okay here? I will only be gone for a moment."  
  
Roxy laughed. "No, I'm _fine_ Makari. Go ahead. If I need help I'll yell, don't you worry."  
  
Makari nodded and then stood up. "All right. I will not be long." He stepped forward and gave her one more quick hug before departing out of the hut, leaving Roxy alone.  
  
She stared after him in silence for a moment, feeling her brain going a mile a minute. She thought about what had just happened and what Makari had just said. Still, she got a shiver every time she thought about the sickness she had just gone through. Roxy hated getting sick, but this had been a _big_ one to say the least.  
  
She remembered what Makari had said about getting sick in the wilderness, and how survival wasn't common. Though this thought weighed heavily on her, she thought about something else instead. Makari had stayed by her side the whole time she had been sick, watching over her and doing what he could to make her feel better. It was a vague feeling, but she felt like she could remember a sense of guardianship during her dizzying fever dreams.   
  
She had known that Makari had a caring heart, but this showed just how much he could care. He was so worried about her wellbeing that he didn't leave her side. Roxy remembered that Makari was one of the best warriors in the village, so it made sense that the wise ones would want him out on patrol protecting the village quite often. In the past, he had disappeared to do something along those lines almost once a day. Yet, if he had been given any tasks, he had ignored them all in favor of staying with her.  
  
Roxy could feel a warm smile slowly slipping its way onto her face. Makari's acts of kindness towards her never seemed to cease. She had essentially shown up on his doorstep one day, and he had done nothing but care for her and try to make her comfortable and safe. Plus, he had never asked for anything in return.  
  
It was no wonder she was cheering and hugging him whenever he came back from patrol. She enjoyed being around him, even in this hostile environment, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. His unending kindness, caring and calming attitude made her feel all warm and fuzzy. When he was around, it was hard not to smile.  
  
Roxy was till gazing out the door, and she realized that she was subconsciously counting the seconds until he returned. There was a jumpy, excited feeling in the pit of her stomach that matched the exuberant grin on her face.   
  
She giggled softly, closing her eyes and smooshing her cheeks with her paws. Her whole face was burning and her heart was thumping, neither of which had anything to do with being sick.


	11. The Marking Ceremony

"Nice of you to join us…"  
  
Roxy shot the Pikachu a glance. "Taka, don't start…"  
  
"She was _sick_ , Taka," Makari retorted, "No-one can blame her for that."  
  
Taka simply shrugged and walked off to the middle of the training area, ready to begin for the day.   
  
Roxy let out her breath slowly, moving her joints about and stretching. Complete recovery from her illness had been a slow, week-long process. She had been saddled with congestion, mild fever and an upset stomach that didn't seem to go away. It had been pretty unpleasant, but nothing that she couldn't handle.  
  
Especially since Makari continued to stay by her side while she got better.  
  
Now she was feeling better, though this meant an immediate return to training. Roxy had enjoyed her brief vacation from the demanding Taka, but the downside was that she felt a little out of practice.  
  
"We are going to spend half of the day going over everything you have learned so far," Taka announced, "and then we shall move on to something else."  
  
Roxy took one more breath and then nodded. "Okay," she said with a degree of certainty. Training with Taka was still very hard, but the progress she had made had given her a great boost to her spirits. The motivation was still there, so that she could learn to defend herself from danger. Roxy knew that there were much worse things out there than training with Taka.  
  
"I will be watching," Makari said, causing her to turn to him and look into his eyes. The heat rose to her cheeks, something Roxy had become acutely aware was happening more and more often.  
  
"Thanks…" she murmured.   
  
"Heh…It took quite a bit of convincing to the wise ones to let me have just one more day, but I am afraid that after today I must return to patrol."  
  
"Right…I guess they want you on overtime?"  
  
Makari gave her a perplexed look.  
  
"Uh…To make up for lost time?" she clarified.  
  
"Ah. Yes, they do."  
  
" _Pet!_ " Taka barked, "We will begin _now_."  
  
Roxy gave Makari a sidelong glance. "When do you think he'll start calling me by my name?"  
  
Makari simply chuckled in response.   
  
So, the next few hours were filled with nothing but a refresher course. Taka would have her perform moves, and then try to correct her when she got any of them wrong. She was rusty for a little bit, but soon was surprised at how quickly the skills were coming back to her.   
  
Noon rolled past with a quick Leppa lunch break, and it was right back to training. Eventually, Taka started making her do a combined run through of all that she had learned so far, and she was to do it over and over again until she got it right.  
  
This lasted for a couple more hours. She was given breaks, more than Taka wanted at the insistence of Makari, but they didn't last long. Roxy knew how stubborn and steadfast Taka could be, and so she tried to ignore the fatigue when it started to show. All she had to do was get this exercise right and she wouldn't have to do it anymore.  
  
Eventually, it was the middle of the afternoon. "Ready…" Taka proclaimed, and Roxy knew that _this_ time she could get it.  
  
At Taka's signal, she moved from target to target as quickly as she could, hitting each with a different move she had learned. She threw slashes, kicks and tail swipes, and used short and long spears. Then she quickly moved in front of Taka, who began to attack her with a predetermined set of moves. She focused as hard as she could, keeping a calm mind as she quickly but carefully dodged or blocked every one.  
  
Finally, silence filled the area as both stopped moving. Roxy began to pant, while Taka simply stared down at her.  
  
"Very well," was all that he said.  
  
"Wh…Huh? Did I do it?"  
  
"You did it well enough…"  
  
"Ah! Yes! I did it! I remembered everything!" She turned to the side and threw up her paws in joy. "Makari, I did it! I can still do all the things!"  
  
Makari was smiling just as brightly as she was. "Wonderful, Roxy!"  
  
Without even thinking, Roxy took off and sprinted towards Makari. She dashed towards him at full speed and nearly tackled him to the ground with the force of her hug. "I did it!!"  
  
"I knew you could do it," he said as he warmly hugged her back, "You are stronger than you think you are, Roxy."  
  
"Yaaaaaayyy…!"   
  
For a moment, Roxy simply reveled in her success. 'Well enough' was practically 'flying colours' when it came to Taka. She hadn't been sure if she would be able to pass her refresher course in just one day, and actually doing so had given her a huge confidence boost.  
  
A little cherub-like grin appeared on her face as her brain shifted gears. She thought less about her victory, and more about the fact that she was hugging Makari again. His fur was so smooth and his body was so warm, but besides that she just felt so safe and secure in his embrace. He was so happy when she was happy, and this in turn just made her happier. It was so wonderful to share a hug with her favourite Pikachu in the whole world.  
  
Was there a way to make this lovely hug last forever?  
  
Roxy opened her eyes and glanced off to the side, seeing Taka standing nearby. His forelegs were crossed and he stared at the two of them with a furrowed brow. A moment later, one of his eyebrows shot upwards but he said nothing.  
  
"Um," Roxy mumbled as she extracted herself from the embrace, "I wa- Jus- I- Yeah." Blushing madly with embarrassment, she just quickly made her way back to the centre of the training area.  
  
"Right," Taka said, continuing as if nothing had happened, "Do not get too excited, you still have yet to master these skills. You have merely proven that your absence did not hamper you."  
  
"Y-yeah," Roxy said with a nod.  
  
"Practice them. A lot."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
Taka gave her an odd look, and then clasped his paws behind his back as he meandered over to the side of the area. "Now then," he spoke, "It is time for you to learn a most important skill that no Pikachu should be without."  
  
Roxy watched him as he stopped and stood next to a large boulder, a few jolts of anxiety hitting her as she wondered what was next. Furthermore, this was usually the time of day when Taka let her go.  
  
"You are a Pikachu," he stated, "At least, in name. To become a true Pikachu, you must learn something that, honestly, should not have to be taught."  
  
Roxy's ears fell flat against her head as she realized what Taka was talking about.  
  
Indeed, Taka decided to punctuate his statement with a demonstration. He clenched his fists and scrunched his face up a little bit, before shouting and extending both of his paws forward. A strong bolt of lightning shot forth and impacted the rock, where it dissipated.  The loud _bang_ that went with it startled Roxy and made her jump.  
  
After a moment of silence, she spoke. "I, uh…I guess it's time to level up?"  
  
Taka ignored her and took a few steps away. "Show me the extent of your thunder once more."  
  
She frowned at him. "Only if you promise not to make fun of me again…"  
  
He shot her a look. "Just _do_ it."  
  
Roxy sighed and got down on all fours. She found that it was easier to do a Thunder Jolt when she stood like that. It was easy enough to do, but it did take a considerable amount of effort. She focused and built up her electricity, then did her best to zap the rock.  
  
She felt especially inadequate doing this. Roxy had learned that most cubs figure out how to wield electricity on their own, and only need training to pull off advanced techniques. She, on the other hand, could only produce enough electricity to maybe shock a Caterpie.  
  
She glanced at Taka, who didn't look pleased by what he saw. "You have much to improve."  
  
Roxy gave him a flat look. _Gee,_ she thought, _Thanks Captain Obvious…_  
  
"We will start with the simplest; your posture."  
  
She glanced up at him and frowned. "Do I have to stand up? It's easier to do like this."  
  
"No. Standing on all fours allows you to focus your attack better."  
  
"Oh!" She perked up, feeling pleasantly surprised that she had figured something out on her own, even if it was by accident.  
  
"But, you need to arch your back," Taka continued, walking over and getting down on all fours beside her. He adopted a position to show her what she needed to do.  
  
"Like this…?" Roxy asked, trying to bend her spine like he was doing.  
  
"More," he replied, "Tail high to the sky. Your rump should be just as high, if not higher, than your head."  
  
"Umm…" Roxy grunted as she shifted into position. It felt weird and kind of uncomfortable. She tried to hold her tail up as straight as possible, though she couldn't look back at it or she knew she would lose her balance.  
  
"Right. Try again."  
  
"The Thunder Jolt?"  
  
Roxy took Taka's silence as an affirmative and prepared to attack the rock once again. She thought about trying to impress him with something a little more powerful, but then she realized that she had never done two Thunder Jolts so quickly in succession. Her attack ended up being about the same as last time, though it left her twice as worn out afterwards.  
  
Taka sighed. "Watch me."  
  
She looked over as he changed position slightly so that she could see him. He adopted the position once more, with back arched and tail to the sky, and then sparks began to fly from his cheeks. Roxy paid close attention, trying to see every little detail about this demonstration that she could find. She remained in her own crouched position, trying to adjust herself further to match his stance.  
  
Taka unleashed his attack, and suddenly everything went white. Roxy let out a cry of literal shock as a strong, painful tingling sensation suddenly overcame her entire body. She collapsed onto her stomach, crying out in confusion as the paralyzing feeling of powerful electricity danced across her body.  
  
Both of the other Pikachu were at her side in an instant. Makari grabbed onto her paws and helped her sit up. The sensation passed rather quickly, but it still left her aching and twitching all over. Once she had regained her senses, she shot Taka a furious look. " _What did you hit_ me _for?!_ " she demanded.  
  
"I did no such thing!" Taka replied, his tone indignant but he was also clearly confused, "Makari, what happened? Did you see?"  
  
Roxy glanced over at Makari, seeing that he looked just as perplexed. "I…am not sure…" he muttered, then leaned in closer to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"I…I'm f-fine…" she spoke, though it was a little difficult to do so as her whole body was still twitching and jerking.  
  
"Makari!" Taka barked, "What happened?"  
  
"Your thunder…It…" Makari seemed to be at a loss for words.  
  
"It _what_?"  
  
"It _turned_ …in the air."  
  
Taka gave him a bewildered look. "What…?!"  
  
"You let loose your attack, it bolted forwards, but then it _turned_ around in the air and went straight for Roxy. It was drawn to her tail, and then it shocked her."  
  
"Makari, thunder does not _curve_ in the air like that."  
  
"I am only telling you what I saw."  
  
"Nnnnnhh…" Roxy moaned. She felt weird all over. Besides the lingering aches, her muscles just felt strange and in general she just felt abnormal.  
  
"Is she…What has happened to her?"  
  
Roxy blinked in surprise and glanced down at herself. It didn't take her long to notice the sparks that were dancing from her cheeks. "Gah!" she exclaimed in surprise, falling back slightly. The sparks didn't stop.  
  
"Here, Roxy…Lie down," Makari said to her in a calming voice.  
  
"Oh, do not coddle her. You are a Pikachu, _pet_. Thunder should not affect you this much."  
  
"Taka! Will you stop trying to pretend she is _from here_?!"  
  
"What's…What's happening?" Roxy asked in a panic, feeling that the sparks were still flying from her cheeks.  
  
"You seem to be…charged with thunder," Makari noted.  
  
"It's feels weeeeeird…"  
  
"She must have done something," Taka spat defensively, "Some weird trick the humans taught her or something…"  
  
"I…I didn't…" Roxy murmured.  
  
"I did _not_ shock her. I cannot explain why my thunder struck her tail."  
  
"Thunder…tail…" Roxy murmured. A moment later, her eyes opened wide. "Ohhh…" She turned and gave the two brothers a bashful look.  
  
"That's…Um…That's my _Lightning Rod_."  
  
They both gave her a blank look.  
  
"I guess I know how _that_ works now…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The negative effects of being shocked didn't last very long, and soon enough Roxy was well enough to continue learning with Taka. This time, though, they made sure _not_ to keep her tail elevated.   
  
Learning new electric moves, however, didn't go very well. She tried her best to listen to what Taka was saying and to watch his demonstrations, but what she could do never seemed to move beyond her Thunder Jolt.   
  
That didn't stop Taka from trying, though. He had her keep using electric move after electric move, trying to get her to learn the skills. Unfortunately, they just didn't seem to be coming to her. She could never build up enough power in her cheek pouches, at least not without getting dizzy and tumbling over. Makari was as supportive as he could be, but it was clear that progress would not be made that day.  
  
It was a completely exhausting endeavour. Each attack that Roxy tried drained her and wore her out. It was like the electricity was sapping her strength. A short food break with Makari had only barely helped. By the time Taka finally decided to call it quits, Roxy was ready to pass out.  
  
She was lying on her back, panting from exertion. She had never been so relieved to hear Taka say that the training day was over, but now she felt like she couldn't move. All she could do was lie there and listen to the brothers talk.  
  
"Cubs learn thunder faster than she does."  
  
"How original, Taka…"  
  
"It is true."  
  
"It is also callous."  
  
"I do not know if she will even be able to learn proper thunder techniques. It seems like living as a _pet_ for as long as she has…Well, has taken away her skills."  
  
"I do not think I agree with that line of thinking…"  
  
"You saw how today went…"  
  
Roxy frowned. She _was_ trying her hardest, but this was just another thing she had never tried in her life. Thunder Jolt had just been something that was so easy, even she could do it.  
  
"I am going now," Taka said.  
  
"Okay. Would you like to spar later? We have not had a chance to do that for a while."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"The festival is tonight, Makari. Have you forgotten…?"  
  
Makari gasped. "Ah!"  
  
Confused, Roxy forced herself to sit up. She groaned as she did so, feeling the lingering fatigue. She glanced over at Makari and saw that Taka was already walking away. "Festival?" she spoke.  
  
Makari turned to her and then walked over. "Yes, the festival…Wow, I had completely forgotten. I had been so preoccupied with helping you get better that it slipped my mind."  
  
Roxy smiled upon hearing that. "What is it?"  
  
"It is the festival of the _Marking Ceremony_ , and it will be happening tonight just as the sun goes down."  
  
"The 'Marking Ceremony'?"  
  
Makari nodded, taking a seat next to her. "The Marking Ceremony happens once every passing of the moon, usually when the first quarter is visible. It is when we gather together to bestow new marks upon those who have earned them." As he explained, he touched the large green swoosh shape on his chest.  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
He nodded. "It is also the time to celebrate cubs who earn their first mark. At such a time, they also receive their name."  
  
Roxy thought back to what Makari had explained to her about how names were given out in the tribe. "Wow, that sounds interesting."  
  
"It is a time of celebration and revelry. There is food and music and plenty of good times."  
  
Roxy glanced off at nothing for a moment, trying to picture it in her head. She had seen on TV the ceremonies of some rural human tribes who lived in the jungles and deserts, but even those didn't seem quite like what Makari was describing.  
  
"Would you like to go?"  
  
She turned back towards him, seeing that he was giving her an imploring look and a charming smile. "…To the festival?"  
  
He nodded. "It will begin in a few hours."  
  
"Really? I…I can come?"  
  
His smile brightened. "Of course you may come! You would be more than welcome to! This will be a time to enjoy yourself, and no-one can say you do not deserve that." When she didn't reply right away, he added, "Please? I would be very happy if you would accompany me." He held out his paw to her.  
  
Roxy could feel herself starting to blush. She was very interested in this festival and felt excited to be able to go, but the way Makari was asking her made a set of different feelings bubble up. He wasn't just suggesting she go to the festival, he was asking her to go with him. It was an invitation. It was almost like a…  
  
"Yes!" she blurted out, "I'd love to!"  
  
Makari beamed. "Wonderful!" He reached over and gently took one of her paws in his own.  
  
A shiver ran through her whole body at his touch, which had nothing to do with his Static.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy spent the next few hours relaxing in Makari's hut, getting back some of the energy she had lost while training, and eating a quick snack. With Makari's company, it wasn't long before the sun started to set outside.  
  
That was when she started to hear a commotion outside. She had asked if the festival was starting, but Makari told her that it was merely being set up. Her anticipation started to grow with every passing moment she spent in that hut. She tried to imagine what the ceremony might be like, but all she could think about was spending more time with Makari.  
  
Soon after, Makari disappeared out the door for a few minutes. When he returned, with the last rays of light fading behind him, he held open the vines in the doorway and extended a single paw inwards towards her. "Are you ready?" he asked.  
  
Roxy nodded and stood up. She stretched a little bit, wishing she wasn't quite as tired but excited nonetheless, and padded over to the doorway. There, she got up on her hind legs and took Makari's forepaw with one of hers.  
  
Makari smiled warmly. He looked like a perfect _gentleman_ , as the humans would say. He gave a gentle tug on her paw and began to leisurely lead her through the village. It was getting really dark outside, which made Roxy start to feel a little nervous. For a moment, she wondered what kind of ceremony it would be if it were too dark to see.  
  
Then, the two of them approached the large clearing in the centre of the village. Roxy remembered it as the place where Makari had first introduced her to the rest of the clan. Her wide eyes twinkled as she saw what it looked like now.  
  
Encircling the clearing were a series of sticks or poles, each one with a small flame burning at the tip. Roxy presumed that they had been lit in much the same way as the little torch in Makari's hut. They helped bring light to the clearing, but not as much as the marvelous bonfire near the middle. Roxy was astonished as she gazed at it, the dancing flames glimmering in her eyes. It was surrounded securely by rocks, ensuring that it would not spread, but its light was bright enough that it may as well have been early in the evening.  
  
Seated in front of the bonfire, with their backs to the flames, were four Pikachu arranged in a line. Sitting in front of them were the three Wise Ones. The rest of the clearing was slowly starting to fill with more and more Thunder Clan members. Most of them were chatting amongst one another. Roxy saw Miri, Bamaka and Bogo, as well as many others she recognized. Many of them waved to her as she arrived, to which she smiled and waved back.  
  
One member of the Thunder Clan was noticeably absent. "Where is Adi?"  
  
"He is on night patrol," Makari replied, "Only half of the village is here, while the other half work diligently to keep us safe."  
  
"Oh, I see…" Roxy murmured quietly, suddenly feeling a little bit vulnerable. She realized that, despite the light of the fire, she was outside in the wilderness in the pitch black of the night.  
  
Makari must have sensed her worry. "Roxy, consider it…If a predator wanted to eat one of us, would he really choose to attack us here? Where most of us are gathered together in one place, wielding _fire_?"  
  
Roxy gazed up at him for a moment, then broke out into a smile. "Heh heh…I guess you're right." Just like that, she didn't feel afraid anymore. Like always, Makari had known just the right thing to say.  
  
The four behind the Wise Ones looked around and seemed to notice that most of the attendees had arrived. They all looked at one another for a moment, seeming to trade silent signals, and then all of them held a pair of sticks above each of their heads.   
  
A moment later, the drumming began.  
  
Roxy started a little as thunderous drumming suddenly filled the air. She realized that the four Pikachu had hollowed logs sitting in front of them, which they were currently banging their sticks against to make music. The sound was very primitive and simplistic, but it had an invigorating feel to it as well. The crowd around her fell silent as the drummers played a very impressive, fast-paced sequence.  
  
Then, with one final, resounding note, the drummers stopped playing and a chilling silence filled the area. Everyone in the audience watched and waited, including Roxy. She'd had no idea what to expect from this festival, and already she was surprised.  
  
Finally, Karizu stood up on his hind legs. His necklace jingled as he moved, which was the only sound that could be heard over the crackling of the fire. After a few moments, he began to speak. "Brethren of the Thunder Clan…" he proclaimed in a booming voice, "The heavens smile upon us as we sit beneath the beauty of the shining moon. It seemed like so long ago that the moon looked like this. So much has happened."  
  
Roxy could feel a few eyes fall upon her, but she ignored them and continued to listen.  
  
"I am glad that those who are here could join us. My tribe, my brethren…my friends, it is time once more for the Festival of the Marking Ceremony!!"  
  
The drums began to play once more as the crowd erupted into cheers. Roxy found herself swept up in the sudden surge of such positive energy. She couldn't help but smile.  
  
Karizu laughed and held up his paws for silence. When it came, he continued. "It is a great honour to once again head this ceremony. It brings me such pride to see all of you accomplishing so much, and not one of you does any of it simply to obtain another mark. You are so brave, clever and wonderful. I am glad to call each and every one of you…my family."  
  
There were more cheers, and even Roxy joined in with a small whoop that was probably drowned out. A little part of her mind wondered if Karizu counted her in that statement as well.  
  
"Well, if there are no objections, I say we should move on to the main event." Karizu chuckled. "I know _some_ of you cannot wait to dig into that pile of Pinap Berries."  
  
The crowd laughed, and Roxy guessed that it was an inside joke.  
  
"I ask that those who are to take part in the ceremony, please come forward."  
  
The crowd then began to shuffle around. Feeling just the tiniest bit claustrophobic, especially in the dark, Roxy shuffled closer to Makari and grabbed onto one of his forelegs. He didn't seem to mind one bit, and smiled at her when she turned to look up at him.  
  
A moment later, six Pokémon had been separated from the crowd and were standing before the three Wise Ones. There were three adults and three others who were just barely young enough to still be called 'cubs'. Five of them were Pikachu and the other was a Pachirisu.  
  
Roxy figured that these were the Pokémon about to receive their mark. She wanted to ask Makari about it, but didn't want to speak up and disturb the ceremony. So, she simply settled in and watched in silence.  
  
"Manaka," Karizu called out.   
  
One of the adult Pikachu stepped forward. He bowed his head respectively, and then simply stood there.  
  
"For your contributions to this tribe, and harmony with your brethren, we bestow upon you this mark."  
  
The Pikachu, Manaka, nodded and kept his eyes closed. "I accept," he spoke, "Thank you for this honour, wise ones."  
  
Ozu then stood and approached the Pikachu. He was carrying a bowl, made from the shell of a Chesto Berry. He stood directly in front of Manaka, and then dipped his other forepaw into the bowl. When he pulled it out, it was covered in a dripping green substance.   
  
Roxy recognized it immediately, as it was the same shade of green that covered the villagers' bodies. Ozu brought his paw up to Manaka's shoulder, where he brought it down slowly but firmly. Using his paw expertly like a painter would a brush, Ozu painted a band of green down from Manaka's shoulder to about where his navel was, where it ended in a point. Manaka smiled warmly after the act was done, and nodded his head in thanks.  
  
"It symbolizes his bravery in the face of danger."  
  
Roxy jumped slightly when she heard Makari whispering to her. She glanced at him for a moment and said, "Oh." She then turned back towards the centre.   
  
"The paint for the marks is made from a special mixture of berries and plants," he explained, taking care not to speak too loudly and disturb the ceremony, "It quickly adheres to fur and dyes it. The marks last a very long time before they finally start to fade and need to be reapplied."  
  
"Wow…" Roxy whispered.  
  
A few more words were said, and then Manaka stepped back, looking proud of his new mark. Roxy noticed Ozu briefly place the bowl of paint down and reach over to a second bowl. This was full of water, which he used to wash off his paws.  
  
"Is that so his paws don't turn green?" Roxy asked.  
  
Makari laughed softly. "Indeed."  
  
Karizu then looked out at the gathered Pokémon and called out a second name. "Fagokikai."  
  
One of the younger Pikachu cubs stepped forward. He looked as if he had evolved from a Pichu not too long ago. Roxy recognized the 'kai' in his name and knew that the cub didn't yet have a name.  
  
"It is with great honour, responsibility, and congratulations…" Karizu spoke, "that we recognize your abilities and welcome you as a full-fledged member of this clan. We are all very proud to bestow upon you…your very first mark."  
  
Ozu then stepped forward once more. The Pikachu cub was bouncing with excitement, and it took focus for him to stand still while Ozu applied the green paint. His mark was a crescent moon shape around the side of his head.  
  
"Leadership," Makari supplied, "Or a sense of comradery."  
  
"We believe," Karizu continued, "that you will accomplish great things. We cannot promise anything, but perhaps there is a sacred stone in your future. Congratulations, young one… From now on, we shall call you by your true name." There was a pause, and then he announced, "Kudi!"  
  
There was an uproarious cheer from the audience. Roxy decided to join in the applause. It was still a very strange thing for her to wrap her head around. To her, names had always been a thing that were given at birth. Still, though, she could easily see how big of a deal it would be to receive one.  
  
"What does it mean?" she whispered to Makari.  
  
"He is intelligent and respected."  
  
She smiled. "That sounds like a nice name to have."  
  
The ceremony then continued, as the second grown Pikachu stepped forward. This one was already covered in plenty of green, and Ozu added a few small dots around one of his eyes.  
  
"He knows how to watch out for danger," Makari explained.  
  
The Pachirisu was next. Though he was much smaller than those around him, he still earned the same amount of respect as those who had come before him. His was a ring-like mark around the tail.  
  
"That one is for skills in battle. I actually do not remember which skills it refers to."  
  
"How many different kinds of marks are there?"  
  
Makari let out a quick laugh. "Countless," he answered.  
  
The same ceremony continued for the other two Pikachu. They both received a new mark, and the remaining cub was given a name. It was a fascinating display and unlike anything Roxy had ever seen before. This was the sort of thing she had only seen on TV or read in books. To see it actually happening before her eyes was truly remarkable.  
  
Once the last Pikachu stepped back, having received her honours, there was a brief moment of silence. Roxy wondered what would happen next.  
  
"Well…" Karizu spoke, giving a sort of half-smirk to the audience, "It seems to me that somebody is missing."  
  
Roxy tilted her head. What did that mean?  
  
Karizu glanced over towards her and moved his head in a beckoning motion. "Come on, now."  
  
Her eyes shot open wide and she felt her heart freeze. Was he talking to _her_? Why would he be talking to her?! Did he actually want her to come forward, in front of all these other Pokémon, and…?  
  
Her fears were quelled when it was Makari who stepped forward. She heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled at herself. She'd nearly just had a heart attack.  
  
Now, though, she gazed forward at Makari in confusion. Did he have something to do with the ceremony? If so, why hadn't he mentioned it before?  
  
"Makari," Karizu announced.  
  
He simply smiled.  
  
"For your contributions to this tribe, and harmony with your brethren, we bestow upon you this mark."  
  
Makari nodded. "I accept," he spoke, "Thank you for this honour, wise ones."  
  
Roxy quietly gasped. Makari was receiving a new mark? This was certainly unexpected.  
  
Ozu moved forward, his paw once more dripping with green. He moved his paw directly towards Makari's chest. Roxy shivered a little. She was getting ticklish just looking at that. Ozu moved his paw around, but from her angle Roxy couldn't see what he had made.  
  
"You have gone far beyond what was expected of you, Makari," Karizu spoke, "We all agree that you are truly deserving of this mark. Others could learn from the way you have acted."  
  
Makari grinned. "Thank you, wise ones."  
  
He then turned around and faced the crowd, who applauded. Roxy clapped her paws enthusiastically. She was so happy for Makari that she nearly let out a cheer. She didn't even know what the mark was for, but Makari was so amazing in so many different ways. She knew that he deserved all of the marks in the world.  
  
She then glanced down at his chest. Ozu had drawn a circular shape that sort of looked like a sickle, but not quite. It formed a three-quarters circle over the upper-left portion of his chest.  She had no idea what it meant, but she liked the way it looked. It complimented his other marks well.  
  
Makari walked back over and joined her at her side once more. Before she had a chance to ask him any questions, Karizu spoke up once more in a loud voice.  
  
"The ceremony is complete! Tonight, we give our respect and admiration to those who have earned it. But now, my brethren, enjoy yourselves."  
  
There was a loud cheer from the whole crowd, and then the drummers started to play once more. This time, their music was more rhythmical, and this had an immediate effect on those around her. Before she knew it, almost everyone else had started to dance.  
  
Roxy took a step back with Makari so they wouldn't get in anyone's way, and Roxy simply sat there for a moment to watch.  
  
In no time at all, the party had begun. Some of the villagers were eating berries from large piles that had been set up nearby, but most of them had started dancing. Roxy had seen a few Pokémon dancing on TV before, but nothing like this. The way these Pokémon moved was yet another thing she had never seen before.  
  
"Wow…!" she marveled, a big grin plastered on her face.  
  
Makari chuckled. "Traditionally, the dance was held after the ceremony so that the dye would dry faster." He winked at her. "Then again, who needs an excuse to dance?"  
  
Roxy giggled and nodded. She continued to watch all of the dancing Pikachu. Their dancing involved a lot of hopping and exaggerated foreleg movements. There were no pairs dancing; everyone was doing it solo. Though it was only drums and no other instruments, Roxy soon found herself idly tapping one of her hind paws to the beat.  
  
Makari then stepped in front of her. He extended one of his forepaws towards her and gave her an inviting look. "Care to dance?" he asked.  
  
Roxy immediately flushed. "Ah…M-me?" she asked, realizing that was a dumb question. "Oh, I uh…I, uh…I dunno…" She glanced to the side bashfully. "I don't, uh…really know how…to…"  
  
She jumped slightly when Makari reached forward and gently grabbed hold of one of her paws. She turned to look at him and found herself looking him right in the eyes.  
  
"Roxy…" he spoke in that calming voice of his, "Now is not the time to worry. Cast all of your worries aside. Tonight is the time for having fun and nothing else." He smiled at her.  
  
Even more heat was rising to her cheeks. Oh gosh, was she about to turn into a Fire Type? Was it just getting hot around because of the torches?  
  
Roxy was not one for making a spectacle of herself in any way, and she had never danced before in her life. Even when her master would dance to music in her bedroom, Roxy would always just sit by and watch. This really wasn't her cup of tea.  
  
Yet, she felt compelled to take Makari's paw and accept his offer. There was this tangible feeling of reassurance in his eyes and his voice. It made everything seem like it would be okay, no matter what choice she made. She felt like he could defend her from all of the ridiculous worries she had about every little thing.  
  
She wasn't just thinking about dancing. Rather, Makari was asking her to dance with him.  
  
"Um…" she mumbled, "Sure…" She smiled at him, a mix of nervousness and excitement, and gripped his paw back with her own. Makari led her out into the middle of the dancing crowd, smiling at her the whole way, until they were somewhere lost in the middle.   
  
When he let go of her paw, they started to dance. Makari was dancing much like the other villagers. Roxy tried to copy his moves at first, but she found she wasn't very good at them. She felt like others might be staring at her, so she just settled on something a little more simple. She moved her head and her forepaws to the beat, moving her hind paws a little bit as well. Mostly, she was just watching Makari.  
  
There was such a wild smile on his face as he danced. She got the feeling that he'd wanted to dance right from the beginning, but had chosen to stay by her side instead. Many of the other villagers, his brethren, were smiling right along with him. There wasn't a sour look among them. It was probably the happiest she had ever seen most of them.  
  
The music picked up, and so did their dancing. Roxy still had no idea what she was doing and was just trying not to get stared at, but Makari's presence kept her calm. He was putting on some wild moves, but he always made sure to stay close by her.  
  
This was great! This was actually a lot of fun. It was something totally new, but something she really enjoyed. Roxy had never considered herself a dancer, but soon enough she was trying out moves she had seen on TV. Some of the others started to look at her because of her different-looking moves, but she didn't care anymore. She was having way too much fun.  
  
And Makari was right there by her side, laughing along with her.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy danced for as long as she could, but soon enough her exhaustion caught up with her. It was like she had hit a wall and her strength had totally run out. When this happened, she quietly moved herself off of the 'dance floor' and sat on a log nearby, where she continued to watch.  
  
Makari joined her a few minutes later, sitting right beside her. "You okay?" he asked.  
  
Roxy nodded. "I'm still really tired from all the stuff Taka made me do today…"  
  
"I see." Makari put his foreleg around her, which immediately brought out a warm smile. "We did not have to come. You could have-"  
  
She shook her head. "No, no, no. This was _amazing_ , Makari! I wanted to see it and I'm really glad I could. This is the most fun I've had since I've been out here." She smiled up at him. "Thanks for bringing me."  
  
"You are welcome, Roxy. I am so glad that you have enjoyed yourself."  
  
Roxy turned and watched the other Pokémon dance some more. For a moment, the two sat in silence and simply watched. When Roxy idly glanced over at Makari, she realized that she had forgotten something. "Oh!" she perked up, "Um…What does your new mark mean?"  
  
He looked down at her, and then…glanced away? Was he looking bashful? "Heh, well…It, uh…"  
  
Roxy simply looked up at him in curiosity, wondering what it could possibly be.  
  
Makari seemed to collect his thoughts and looked back down at her. "It is the mark of 'caring'…" He smiled at her. "They gave it to me for watching over you."  
  
She blinked and remained silent for a moment. Then, all at once, the burning cheeks and the Butterfree in her stomach came back with a vengeance. "Aww…" she murmured, "That's really sweet…" She was pleasantly surprised. They gave him a whole new mark, just because she was there and needed a babysitter? Roxy couldn't help but feel a little humble.  
  
"I just think it is a little silly," Makari said with a chuckle, "There is no need for this mark…I was just doing what was right. If our marks did not exist, I would not have done anything different."  
  
Makari jumped slightly as Roxy suddenly glomped him in a hug. "Thank you, Makari," she said, "Thank you for _everything_ you've done…"  
  
He paused for a moment, then hugged her back. "Thanks are not necessary…I am just glad that you are well."  
  
She moved back from the hug and gave him a grin. "For what it's' worth, I think you do deserve that. You've done so much more for me than anyone else here."  
  
Makari chuckled. "Well, I…"  
  
Roxy sighed in contentment and sidled herself just a little closer to him, turning her view back to the dancers. "You've helped turn this nightmare into something better. I didn't choose to be here, and I didn't choose to be _trapped_ here, but… Well, when you're around…things don't seem so bad."  
  
"Heh…I am glad that I could be such help," he said.  
  
"You have been _such_ a good help! I don't know _what_ I would've done if you hadn't been here…"  
  
"I am sure someone would have done what I have done."  
  
She softly shook her head. "Not as wonderfully as you have…"  
  
The pair lapsed into silence as they sat and watched the dance, which was still in full swing. It was well into the night by now, but the villagers showed no sign of stopping. Roxy really wanted to join in with them some more, but she was just too exhausted. She had trained extra long with Taka, and all of that work with electricity had really worn her out.  
  
She continued to watch, though, because she enjoyed the sight. It was a fascinating display, and it was made even more wonderful by the flickering light of the bonfire. It was almost like she, and she alone, had discovered a new breed of Pokémon.  
  
But she wasn't just staring at these Pokémon like they were some foreign wild creatures. Through fortune and misfortune, these Pokémon had become almost like a second family to her. Perhaps 'family' was still too strong a word to use, but they protected her and enjoyed her company. They were like her in so many ways, and different in so many others.  
  
Roxy sighed in content as her tired eyes watched the fast-paced, intricate dance moves. The Pikachu would move deftly on their feet, almost like they were hunting. Many of the dancers were now carrying spears and incorporating them into the dance. The Pachirisu swished their tails, the Jolteon managed to keep up despite being entirely quadrupedal, and none of the three wise ones were shying away from the dance at all. As they moved, the colours of the world melded around them and twisted into a beautiful painting. The funny-looking cotton candy Buneary bounced along the ground in such a tantalizing way.  
  
Roxy took in a quick, sudden breath as she realized that she had started dreaming. She tried to return herself to wakefulness, noting that she must have dozed off. This was easier said than done, because she was so tired and the pillow she was laying on felt so warm and snuggly.  
  
She felt her eyes drifting closed once more, and she actually let them remain closed for a few fleeting seconds. Sleep felt so blissful to her, no matter how badly she wanted to stay up and watch the rest of the festival. She squirmed herself a little and nuzzled her cheek into her soft, comfy pillow.  
  
It took her far too long to realize that there were no pillows out in the wilderness. What in the world was she sleeping on? Roxy tilted her head slightly, trying to see what she had fallen asleep against, but all she saw was yellow.  
  
Yellow _fur_.  
  
It was warm, it was comfortable, and it belonged to someone else. Looking up at the face gazing down at her confirmed her fears.  
  
"Sorry!" Roxy uttered as she quickly shot herself up into a sitting position. "I'm sorry, I- I- I…" Roxy was absolutely mortified. She could not have been more embarrassed. Her face was burning red so much that she was sure no-one could even see her cheek pouches. "I was just- I, mean- I'm sorry, I didn't…I just…"  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
Roxy clenched her eyes shut as the embarrassment flooded through her. Here was Makari showing her out to a nice evening and bringing her to this festival, and she falls asleep on him. She uses him as a pillow. ' _What is_ wrong _with you?!_ ' she mentally screamed at herself.  
  
"Roxy, come now…Stop your silliness."  
  
"I- I'm sorry, M'kari…" she mumbled, "I didn't mean to…" She couldn't bring herself to look at him.  
  
"I know, but I do not mind. I know that you are tired. You must know that there are much worse things to do than falling asleep on my side, right?"  
  
"I, uhh… I…" She gulped. "I guess…?"  
  
"It is okay, Roxy."  
  
"But I'm so embarrassed…!"  
  
Makari responded by suddenly pulling her into another hug. She yipped softly in surprise as he wrapped his forelegs around her and brought her in tight. "Now," he spoke, "If I did not want you leaning on me, would I do this?"  
  
Roxy blinked. "I, uh…"  
  
"That would be silly of me, would it not?"  
  
"Y-yeah…" Roxy, though she was still feeling a little bashful, could not stop herself from yawning loudly. She looked up at Makari, but her eyes were starting to droop. "I…guess…" she mumbled lethargically.  
  
"Let us return to my hut, then," Makari said softly, "Shall we?"  
  
"Okay…"  
  
Makari stood up on his hind legs and helped Roxy stand up as well. She yawned again, wanting to just close her eyes and sleep standing up.  
  
"Come on, now…" Makari said as he took her paw and began to lead her away from the festival, grabbing one of the small torches to take with him. The drumming and the dancing continued, even as they faded into the distance.   
  
It was a short walk back to Makari's hut. Getting up and walking was giving Roxy a little more energy, but she still moved slowly. Makari stayed beside her, keeping to her pace. Roxy was still a little embarrassed for having passed out on him like that, but right now she was just looking forward to a good night's sleep.  
  
When they reached the hut, Makari parted the vines and carefully brought the torch inside without igniting anything. He placed it in the holder, allowing it to cast the entire inside of the hut in a gentle, flickering glow. Roxy exerted a great amount of self-control to keep from just _flopping_ down on her stomach and sailing off to dream land.  
  
Instead, she sat down neatly at the edge of her bedding. Makari stepped over and sat down on the bedding as well, turning so that they were facing each other.   
  
Roxy was smiling, feeling all warm inside. "Thanks for taking me to the festival, Makari."  
  
"It was my pleasure, Roxy," he replied, "I had a wonderful time."  
  
"And, congratulations on your new mark."  
  
He smiled and said, "Thank you."  
  
Roxy glanced towards the doorway. She could still hear the sounds of the drums in the distance, but it didn't worry her. She was tired enough that she was sure she could sleep through them. "That was so amazing," she spoke softly, "This whole place is really amazing, Makari. It's so cool, all of the things you have done and everything you do, and…"  
  
She turned back and looked at him once more. "In some ways…I'm glad I ended up here."  
  
Makari was a little surprised by that remark. "Really?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "I'm always going to remember the amazing things I saw here."  
  
"Heh…" Makari chuckled, "I am so glad you approve. After all, it is not often that we get visitors…at _all_."  
  
Roxy giggled. "Yeah, I guess you don't have a tourism board." She was sure that remark had gone right over Makari's head, but the other Pikachu laughed nonetheless.  
  
For a moment, there was nothing but blissful silence. The two Pikachu were gazing into each other's eyes with smiles on their faces, hardly a care in the world. Roxy couldn't argue that she felt happy and safe in that moment. Aside from wanting to go home, Roxy wouldn't have changed a thing.   
  
"Today was wonderful," she whispered, breaking the silence.  
  
"It was," Makari agreed.  
  
"I, um…I'm glad I could spend it with you…"  
  
"As am I."  
  
Roxy didn't feel any hesitation in saying those words, because they were the truth. Right now, Makari was the one she was happiest to be around. Makari was the one she had the most fun with and who made her feel the safest. He was the one she worried the most about when out on patrol. Though they were all wonderful in their own ways, Makari was so much more important to her than any of the other villagers.   
  
Makari was also the one who caught her when she dozed off and started to pitch forward. Roxy awoke with a jolt, seeing that Makari had caught her by the shoulders and kept her from making a faceplant. He gently pushed her back upright, but kept his paws on her shoulders.  
  
"Ah! I, uh… I'm…"  
  
She was about to apologize yet again, but the last word died on her lips. She found herself much closer to him than before, staring deep into his hazel eyes. She could see the fire dancing in their reflection, casting upon them a strange and enticing little glint. She felt herself leaning on him slightly, and she could just feel how fit and strong he was from his forelimbs alone. He smelled like a forest after a fresh rain, which probably came from the newly-applied paint.  
  
And, as always, he was still smiling.  
  
His smile had always been there, even from the very beginning. When she had been afraid of him, it had been his smile that had helped calm her down. Makari was there for her when she was in trouble, no matter what the trouble was, and he was always smiling. His smile was infectious sometimes. It cheered her up, quelled her fears, and made things seem like they would somehow turn out all right.  
  
She was happiest when she was close to him, and now she was closer than ever.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and darted forward, pressing her lips up against his. For a moment, she blocked out the outside world and focused only on him. In that brief, thrilling moment, she was closer to him than ever before. She savoured the feeling of closeness, the _literal_ electricity of contact thanks to his Static, for as long as she dared.  
  
Her eyes snapped open a few moments later and she quickly stumbled backwards. Her jaw hung open slightly and she stared wide-eyed at Makari in utter _horror_. She couldn't move and she hardly even breathed. Panic like she had never felt started coursing through her whole body.  
  
 _What did you just do?!_  
  
"I-I-I-I…" she stammered, "I'm so sorry! I don't…I-I don't know why I did that…" Roxy was absolutely mortified at her actions. Never before had she wanted so badly to go back in time and undo such an utterly stupid move. Her heart was thumping like mad, but it didn't have much to do with the kiss.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" she murmured, covering her face with her forepaws. She felt like her whole body was turning red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, that was really stupid. I dunno what came over me. I just thought I would- I mean, I…I-It's just that…Canwejustforgetithappened?"  
  
"…Roxy…"  
  
The young Pikachu whined in dismay. She was mentally berating herself for being such an idiot. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, "That was really stupid. I just felt… I just thought… I-I dunno…" She just wanted a hole to open up and swallow her whole. She couldn't even bear to look at Makari, or even be in the same place as him. Without a doubt, she had never been more embarrassed in her whole life.  
  
A paw reached forward and touched her cheek. It gently shifted her chin so that she was looking forward once more. Roxy moved her paws away from her face, looking up in confusion like a frightened little Skitty.  
  
Then, Makari leaned in and kissed her. Roxy's eyes shot open wide, her ears and her tail perked up, and there was a muffled yelp of surprise. For a moment, Roxy was paralyzed with shock. Makari was kissing her. _Makari was kissing her!_ This wasn't a simple peck on the lips like hers had been, either. Makari was treating her to a deep, dizzying, passionate kiss.  
  
For a few panic-filled moments, Roxy's eyes darted around as she tried frantically to figure out what was going on. She could feel Makari's paws hugging her, drawing her in close. After a moment, her eyelids started to droop as her eyes started to glaze over. Slowly, she began to melt into the kiss.  
  
All of her worries faded away one by one. Her embarrassment, confusion, self-pity and anxiety all began to disappear. She hugged him back, and pressed herself into the wonderful kiss. A blissful warmth began to fill her whole body, making her feel relaxed and euphoric all at the same time. It was one of the most amazing things she had ever experienced in her whole life.  
  
Lips parted, followed by gasps of breath. Roxy's brain was frozen for a moment, and then she turned her gaze upwards to lock eyes with Makari. Her heart was hammering like crazy in her chest. She couldn't seem to catch her breath, and she was blushing furiously. Little sparks of Makari's Static continued to dance across parts of her body, giving her a little shiver every now and again.  
  
She wanted to say something. She felt like she _had_ to say something, but it was as if Makari had stolen all of her words.  
  
"Roxy…" he whispered, "There is no need to worry." He then adopted his familiar warm smile. "I feel the same way."  
  
Time seemed to stop. Roxy just stared at him for a moment.  
  
 _Did he say…?_  
  
Roxy double-checked to make sure she had heard him properly  
  
 _Did he just say…?_  
  
A small smile appeared on her face, slowly growing larger with every passing second.  
  
 _He did!!_  
  
Roxy let out a squeal of joy and tackled Makari with another hug. The two went tumbling down to the ground, with Makari on his back and Roxy on top of him, but neither seemed to care. She leaned down and kissed him once more.  
  
"Oh my gosh…!" she said breathlessly, hugging and nuzzling the other Pikachu.  
  
Makari chuckled, blushing as well. "My, my, Roxy… I have never seen you this happy before."  
  
Roxy was grinning ear to ear, affectionately nuzzling against Makari's cheek. She had felt his soft fur and the tingle of his Static before, but now they both seemed so much more wonderful. She didn't want to let him go. She wanted to stay this close to him forever.  
  
"Makari…!"   
  
He patted her on the back and returned her nuzzles.  
  
"You've made me the happiest Pikachu in this whole forest…!"


	12. Racing Pulse

The early morning sunlight filtered through the vines covering the hut's door, and Roxy's eyes fluttered open. She yawned and brought up a paw to rub her eyes, trying to clear away the lingering feeling of sleepiness.  
  
She smiled. Upon Roxy's face was a bright, genuine smile. It was the first time she could think of where she had woken up in this place with a smile.  
  
Roxy's dreams had been sweet. Usually her slumber was plagued with nightmares or mournful dreams of her home and her master, but not this time. She was still trapped in this village, and she was still in a dangerous place, but right now she was waking up with a flock of Butterfree in her stomach.  
  
The _good_ kind of Butterfree in her stomach.  
  
Roxy lazily rolled onto her back, feeling the brush of fur against her side. She turned her head and glanced to her right, still with a warm smile, and let out a happy sigh. She gazed fondly at the sleeping form of Makari, still with one of his paws draped across her stomach.   
  
She carefully nestled herself in a little closer to him, taking care not to wake him. To her, his fur felt softer than the bedding they were both laying upon, and maybe even softer than her bed at home. He made a _great_ pillow. She could still feel the shock of his Static, but she had gotten used to it and now it kind of felt nice. It was like that little jittery feeling one gets when one is excited.  
  
He was still there, right next to her. Roxy hadn't expected him to be gone when she woke up, but it was still nice to see that he was still there. Just looking at him made her heart start thumping and her cheeks start glowing.   
  
Roxy was not one for taking risks. Now, though, she could not have been happier that she had taken that risk last night. Everything seemed better now. The horizon looked brighter and the sun seemed warmer.  
  
Makari shifted, yawned softly, and woke up. It was sort of remarkable to see how quickly he went from asleep to awake. Roxy surmised that it was because he was a warrior and was used to getting up at the crack of dawn.  
  
A quick glance outside told her that this wasn't the case on this particular morning.  
  
"G'morning, sleepy-head…" Roxy whispered.  
  
Makari rolled his head to the side to look at her, and adopted the same warm smile as hers. He seemed just as happy to see her as she had been to see him. "Good morning."  
  
Roxy rolled over again so that she was on her side, but now facing him. For a moment, she lost herself in his beautiful hazel eyes. Heavens, how had she not realized how attractive he was?   
  
"Sleep well?" Makari asked.  
  
"Mhmmm…" Roxy said with a dreamy grin, "Best sleep I've had in a long while…"  
  
Makari chuckled softly and leaned in to nuzzle noses with her. Roxy giggled and returned the gesture. They stopped for a moment and stared into one another's eyes, and then, as if on cue, they both leaned in for a soft, tender kiss. Roxy could feel fireworks in her chest.  
  
When the kiss broke, Roxy found herself breathless. A small, cynical part of her was amazed that their previous kisses had not, in fact, been a dream.  
  
They looked at each other in silence for a moment, then both laughed quietly. Roxy felt like a schoolgirl from those weird TV shows her master watched called ' _anime_ '. She had this rush of excitement within her as if she was doing something wrong, even though she wasn't, and it was exhilarating because she didn't feel hesitant or afraid at all.  
  
Roxy giggled. "Your fur's all messy…"  
  
"Yes, it gets like that in the morning," Makari replied.  
  
"I…kinda like how it looks…"  
  
Makari just chuckled and nuzzled her nose again. After another moment of silence, Makari said, "We should get up."  
  
"Mnnn…" Roxy whined, "But I like this, right here…Can't we stay for five more minutes?"  
  
Makari glanced out the doorway. "Taka is probably waiting for you already."  
  
"Awww…" Roxy said playfully, lightly batting Makari's foreleg, "Now why'd you hafta bring him up?"  
  
"Because he is my brother?"  
  
"Excuses…"  
  
The two laughed once more as they sat up. Makari walked over to fetch some breakfast, while Roxy simply sat there and stretched her limbs. She felt _amazing_. Better than she had felt in months. It was incredible how quickly the two of them had clicked together once the thick ice had been broken. After Makari had kissed her back last night, she suddenly felt like she could do anything and say anything in front of him. That kind of freedom was something she didn't usually feel, besides with her master.  
  
The two shared a lovely breakfast, which included some delectable Pechas and Orans. Roxy found herself giving Makari Lillipup-eyes the whole time. Makari's presence had always made her happy, but this had grown exponentially.   
  
It was as if the rest of the world didn't exist anymore.  
  
"Thanks again for breakfast," she said once she was finished.  
  
"I am so glad you enjoyed."  
  
Roxy felt her heart melt a little when she saw that familiar warming smile.  
  
"It looks like today will be sunny," he said with another glance out the door.  
  
"Oh, good!"  
  
"Yes, it might even get warmer later…" He turned and looked at her cheerfully. "We will have to spend some time outdoors in the sunlight when I get back."  
  
At first, Roxy nodded and smiled excitedly. Then, she frowned. "Wait…'Get back'? Where are you…?" Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Oh, right…You have to catch up on patrol stuff…"  
  
He smiled sadly at her. "I am afraid so."  
  
"So, you…"  
  
"I will be back when your training with Taka is over," he reassured her.  
  
Roxy's ears fell flat against her head and she glanced away from him, biting her lip. Just like that, all of that newfound happiness and satisfaction had drained right out of her.  
  
"…Roxy?" he spoke, stepping over to her, "What is the matter?"  
  
"I…I just…"  
  
She gasped lightly when he hugged her from behind, nuzzling the back of her neck. "Please, tell me what is on your mind."  
  
Roxy turned herself around so she was facing him, keeping herself within his embrace. "Do you _have_ to?"  
  
Makari was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes," he replied simply.  
  
"But…B-but, you might get hurt!"  
  
He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Roxy, you need not worry about me. I will be fine."  
  
"There's danger out there! Y-you might…" She shivered a little. "You might be killed…" Suddenly, horrible images started to invade her mind. A thousand sights of Makari's bloody, mangled body assaulted her.   
  
"…That…That is always a possibility," Makari said, "But, Roxy, I have been on patrol countless times. I know my way around combat, and I have brethren that I trust to come to my aid when I need it. Remember, Roxy, our patrol is what keeps this village and everyone inside of it safe."  
  
"I…I know…but…" Roxy muttered. She laid her head against his chest, staring blankly at the wall.  
  
"I will be fine," Makari said as he gently started to rub her back reassuringly, "Just focus on your training with Taka, okay? I will be back before you know it."  
  
Roxy took a deep breath and tried to calm her unsteady nerves. This was not really anything new. She had waved goodbye to him many times, watching him head off to go on patrol and then welcoming him back hours later. It was something she had witnessed him do at least 20 or 30 times since she had arrived.  
  
Now, though, it was different. It _felt_ different to her. Of course his safety had always been important to her, but now it was somehow even _more_ important. She treasured him so much more now. The thought of Makari putting himself in danger scared her worse than ever before, and she strongly wished that he wouldn't do it at all. The danger and the fear seemed multiplied tenfold. She couldn't lose Makari. Not after…  
  
"O-okay…" she whispered, nuzzling the soft fur on his chest. She then lifted her head and stared into his eyes. She couldn't keep her expression from showing worry, but she did try to smile. "I-I'm sorry…I know this is important."  
  
Makari took his paw and gently held it to Roxy's cheek. She shivered at the contact. "Try not to worry, okay?"  
  
Roxy simply nodded. The two gazed fondly at one another, smiling softly.  
  
"Come on," Makari spoke softly afterwards, "Taka will only get angrier."  
  
Roxy gave a bittersweet chuckle. "Yeah…" she bemoaned.  
  
Makari took her paw and led her out of the hut. The sun was already in the sky, and many of the villagers were up and about. A few of them gave the pair friendly waves once they emerged.  
  
Roxy turned to Makari, knowing that she should just say 'goodbye' and wait until they were reunited later. Yet, she didn't want to let go of his paw.  
  
"Just promise…" she whispered, "Promise me you'll be careful?"  
  
He smiled sweetly at her. "I promise," he said without hesitation.  
  
The pair shared a short, but passionate kiss.  
  
"I will see you soon," Makari whispered.  
  
"G…G'bye…"  
  
It seemed like things were moving in slow motion, and Roxy couldn't deny the deep sense of dread she suddenly felt in her chest, but Makari's paw separated from hers and the warrior Pikachu walked off into the village.  
  
Roxy was left standing there, utterly unsure of how to feel. The anxiety-riddled part of her brain was trying to convince her that she had just said her final words to Makari, a notion that she tried her best to ignore.  
  
"Be safe…" she whispered.  
  
After a moment, she realized that she had just been standing there like a statue for a while. She snapped out of her stupor and gave her head a little shake. Then, she paused. Glancing to the side slowly, she found that she was being looked at.  
  
 _Stared_ at.  
  
In a moment, Roxy quickly became the world's first all-red Pikachu. She awkwardly laughed and raised her paw to wave at them. Unfortunately, Roxy had realized too late that she had just kissed a prominent member of the tribe in public where everyone could see her.  
  
"Well…" she murmured to herself, "So much for tact and confidentiality…"  
  
Roxy felt like she could just die on the spot from embarrassment. Although, while some were still giving her odd looks, no-one was marching up to her to demand an explanation or anything like that. She supposed that going public had to happen eventually anyway.   
  
She wanted to crawl back into the hut and wait for the stares to go away, but she knew she had to challenge that thought. Going against what her anxiety told her to do was the only thing that had gotten her any success around here. So, she forced herself to ignore everyone else and marched straight over to the training area.  
  
"I need a bath…" she murmured.  
  
It was almost noon at this point. The sun was nearly at its highest point, so she was far beyond late. She reasoned that it could be excused, though. After all, a lot had happened in the last 24 hours, and she figured that she would be able to handle running the lesson a little late.  
  
When she arrived at the training area, it was empty. Taka was nowhere to be seen, leaving her standing there and unsure of what to do. "Huh…" she muttered.  
  
She took a look around the nearby area, but still couldn't find him. Eventually, she decided to ask someone, though she tried her best to pick out someone who had _not_ just witnessed her totally public display of affection.  
  
"Tanari?" she called out, holding up her paw.  
  
The Pikachu turned and gave her a friendly smile. "Good morning, Roxy."  
  
"Have you seen Taka?"  
  
"Ah…" Tanari glanced away, "I saw him not long ago. He was heading off into the woods. I saw him standing here earlier too."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy said, deflating a little. It seemed like Taka had gotten tired of waiting for her and had just left. "Well, thank you."  
  
"You are welcome."  
  
As the other Pikachu headed off, Roxy stood there for a moment in thought. Taka was going to be _furious_ with her come tomorrow's lesson. That is, if he was even going to keep training her.  
  
"Oh dear…" she murmured. Truth be told, she was a tiny bit glad that she didn't have to do any rigorous training today, but only a little. She had come to really see the value in these lessons and wasn't terribly keen on the idea of falling behind.  
  
"I guess it can't be helped…" she said after a while. With nothing else to do, she set off at a leisurely pace through the village. The others weren't staring at her anymore, which made her feel a little more comfortable being out in the open, but there was still that lingering feeling of embarrassment. Why did social conventions have to be so hard…?  
  
She eventually decided that now was as good a time as any to take that bath. She could remember the location of the part of the river she had bathed in last time. She was longing for a nice, relaxing scrub, and so picked up her pace. She headed back to Makari's hut, as the river was located just behind it.  
  
Once she drew close to his hut, however, she slowed to a stop. "What'm I doing…?" she whispered. Roxy asked herself if she had really just been about to go outside of the village _by herself_. Makari wasn't there to escort her and she didn't feel comfortable asking anyone else. Had she _really_ been about to just waltz out there without a second thought?  
  
Roxy realized that, for a moment, she _had_. It was a strange thought that she didn't quite know how to respond to. Had she just become complacent without even realizing it, or had her mind just been in too many places at once?  
  
She still really wanted to take a bath though, which left her with a conundrum. She didn't really want to wait around and then have to ask Makari to escort her to the bath like he was a butler. Makari _had_ mentioned that her attack at the river last time had been due to a patrolling error. What were the odds something like that would happen again?  
  
She also realized that going off on her own would probably make Makari really proud of her.  
  
Roxy started to head off into the woods, but paused as a thought occurred to her. She briefly turned around and entered Makari's hut, where she found five wooden spears lying against the wall. There were usually six, but Makari had taken one with him. Roxy picked one up, hoping he wouldn't mind.  
  
She then exited the hut and headed back towards the bathing area of the river. A strange thrill jolted through her body at what she was doing, and she was surprised to find that she wasn't as nervous as she thought she would be. She had learned well enough how to use a spear, at least to defend herself until other villagers came to her aid, so she would be much safer bringing one with her.  
  
Still, though, she kept her eyes and ears wide open as she left the village behind. She was getting tired of being jumped by predators. If she had to fight one, at least she wanted to face it head on. Despite her newfound bravery, her heart still pounded in her chest.  
  
Not far from where the river was, Roxy saw another Pikachu walking through the trees in the distance. Roxy knew that this was a villager who was out on patrol, and she smiled at her good luck. "Hey!"  
  
The Pikachu spun on his heels, wooden bow cocked and ready to fire an arrow, but she immediately relaxed when she saw who had spoken. "Roxy?"  
  
"Hello," Roxy spoke in a friendly tone, "I was just going to bathe in the river."  
  
The other Pikachu blinked, as if expecting more. "Okay…?"  
  
"Well…" Roxy scratched the back of her neck. "I don't mean to point paws at anyone, but I was attacked last time I took a bath."  
  
Now, her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh! Yes, that is right." She then smiled and thumped a paw against her chest. "Not to worry, this time. We will keep the area safe."  
  
Roxy smiled in gratitude. "Thanks so much. I trust you guys, I really do. What you're doing is really, really great."  
  
The Pikachu smiled, and Roxy got the strange impression that this villager wasn't often thanked for her work.   
  
With her two safety measures in place, Roxy finally turned and headed directly for the river's edge. In a couple of minutes, she had reached it without issue. Just like before, there was no-one nearby that Roxy could see, but she knew that patrol's invisible security system would be working its magic.  
  
Roxy remembered how chilly the water had been last time, and it was now later in the season so it was bound to be colder. She wasn't keen on the idea of a cold bath, but quickly psyched herself up into the idea of just getting it over with. She silently counted to three, took a deep breath, and jumped right in.  
  
For a few intense seconds, her whole body was assaulted by cold. After breaching her head above the surface and letting her body get adjusted, though, she found it wasn't quite as bad as she had been expecting. It wasn't completely comfortable, but it wasn't cold enough not to be relaxing.   
  
Roxy grinned in contentment as she dunked her head under once more. Her master usually bathed her once every other day, so she had _really_ been wanting one. She broke through the surface once more and gave herself a quick scrubbing.   
  
She sighed. "That's better…"  
  
Despite the water's temperature, Roxy found the river's waters to be therapeutic. It was just as relaxing as the last bath she had taken here. If it were a little warmer, she probably could've stayed there all day.  
  
She didn't completely relax, though. Roxy could remember all too well what had happened the last time she had let her guard down. She still held the spear in her paws, despite being in the water. She imagined that she must've looked a little silly, but she didn't care.  
  
A few peaceful minutes passed by as Roxy scrubbed herself clean a little bit more. It was really quiet out in the woods today. Even the sound of the moving river wasn't as loud as usual. Roxy got the feeling that, even if she wasn't fully trained, she would be able to hear anyone approaching her.  
  
Roxy stretched her forelegs and sighed once more, then turned around to face the bank. A furry form stood before. Legs. Paws. _Claws. Teeth!_ Roxy screamed in terror and stepped back as much as she could in the water, quickly bringing up her spear to hold in front of her. This caused a spray of water to be flung off the end of the wooden weapon.  
  
The water fell across the Luxio's face, dampening her fur. She gave Roxy a mildly irritated look.  
  
"Oh…!" Roxy uttered as her heart returned to normal speed, "I-It's just you…"  
  
Kiga smirked. "I suppose it is a good thing I was here to take a bath anyway."  
  
Roxy gave an awkward smile up to her, the Luxio who also happened to be the mate of Adi the frightening Luxray predator. "Eheheheh…" she said, letting out a strained laugh, "Sorry about that…"  
  
Kiga shook her head. "Pay it no mind." After a moment, she added, "Nice reflexes."  
  
Blinking once, Roxy gazed up at her. "Really?"  
  
The Luxio chuckled, gazing down at her with an expression that could only belong to a feline. "Considering that I made no sound as I approached, you stepped out of my paw's reach before I could slash your neck." Her voice dipped to a whisper on those last three words.  
  
Roxy's eyes shot open wide. "Y…What…?" she stammered.  
  
Kiga simply chuckled once more, a sly smile on her face, as she slowly stepped into the water nearby. "I was merely teasing."  
  
"…Oh," Roxy said, letting go of a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She watched as Kiga stepped into the river beside her, getting all four of her paws wet before laying down in a shallow part.  
  
"You're, um…" Roxy spoke, "You're gonna take a bath here? Too?" She paused. "…Withme?" she murmured in a quiet voice.  
  
Kiga had her eyes closed, and was clearly enjoying the feel in the water. "Adi and Adikai are out…" she said in a slow tone, "Times like these are when I choose to relax."  
  
"Oh, um…Okay…" For a moment, Roxy just stood there. She didn't move, unsure of what to do with herself. She honestly couldn't tell if she was feeling bashful or not. One way or another, she had never _shared_ a bath with someone before. On the other paw, she had gone swimming with others in lakes and rivers before. In the end, she simply decided to be glad that she was done cleaning herself.  
  
As Roxy moved to another shallow part and sat down, she pointedly turned her gaze away from the Luxio. Given the rural nature of this village, it was unlikely that Kiga minded being looked at while bathing in the river. However, Roxy decided to treat her as she herself would want to be treated.  
  
"Are you trained yet?"  
  
Roxy was startled by the sudden question. "Huh? What?" she stammered.  
  
Kiga was giving her an unreadable expression. "Your training with Taka," she repeated, "Has it been completed?"  
  
"Uhhh…" Roxy hesitated. It was the first time anyone besides Makari or Taka had really talked to her about her training, or at least its completion. The question made her feel nervous. Was she about to get reprimanded for not learning fast enough.  
  
"N…No…" she finally answered. When Kiga didn't reply right away, she continued. "I, uh…It's going, though. Day by day, heh… It's just all new to me and really hard."  
  
"Hm. I see," Kiga said, and then rolled herself over in the water. She laid on her back in the shallows, with only her paws and her head above the surface.   
  
There was an awkward silence. Kiga glanced at her and then chuckled. "I was not meaning to imply anything, Roxy," she said, "I was merely curious."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy said for the third time that day. She was starting to get tired of the constant cycle of anxiety and relief with this conversation. "I'm trying my best."  
  
"I know you are, dear."  
  
"You do?"  
  
Kiga rolled back onto her stomach. "I understand better than you might think how difficult the perils of keeping predators away can be."  
  
Roxy blinked, and then realized what Kiga meant. Kiga the _predator_. "Right…"  
  
Kiga simply smiled and shook her head. "Our family has been a part of this tribe for generations. It is such an odd arrangement, but Adi's father lived here, and his father, and _his_ father…"  
  
"Yeah…I gotcha…" Roxy murmured, "Y'know, like…living among…prey…or whatever…"  
  
Kiga paused and gave her a look. "Roxy, am I causing you distress? If so, I do apologize."  
  
"Oh, no! No! No, not at all…" Roxy said, holding up her paws, "No, it's fine, I just…" She looked for an answer for a moment, then sighed. "The truth is that almost everything still causes me distress, even just a little…"  
  
"I see…"  
  
"Heh…Is it obvious that I still don't belong here?"  
  
"Is it…?" Kiga replied with a gentle smirk.  
  
Roxy glanced down, looking at her shimmering reflection in the water. "I really don't…"  
  
"You talk as if you are afraid…Even as if you are afraid of _me_ , and yet you are here bathing on your own, and you have not run away from me. I can see that you trust me. Is that correct?"  
  
Roxy glanced up at the Luxio, pausing for a moment in thought. "I…Yeah, I guess I do trust you. You're a part of the Thunder Clan, after all."  
  
Kiga nodded. "As are you."  
  
That statement alone made her stop for a moment. She stared at Kiga, processing that. She tried to remember if anyone else, besides Makari, had ever before said that she was officially a part of the tribe. She wasn't sure of the answer, but she did know that hearing Kiga say it made her smile a little.  
  
"I guess I am, aren't I?" she said with a chuckle, "Life is just so crazy…"  
  
"We are happy for your company," Kiga said as she stood up and waded herself deeper into the river, submerging all but her head.  
  
"Well, thank you!" Roxy said with a smile.  
  
"I know that one day you will be as strong a fighter as the rest of us, but there is no hurry to reach that day. You will get there on your own."  
  
Roxy paused for a moment in thought. "Kiga?" she eventually spoke up, "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
Kiga first dunked her head underwater for a few seconds, but then turned to her and said, "Hm? What is it, Roxy?"  
  
"Do you…you and Adi…go on patrol too?"  
  
"Why, of course dear," she said with a nod.  
  
"And you, um…fight off predators?"  
  
"Naturally."  
  
Roxy gave this a bit of thought. To her uninformed mind, it was a bit difficult to imagine a predator like Kiga taking up a defence position around a mostly-prey village. Especially when she considered that the Luxray family was an omnivorous species and needed to eat meat to survive. It was an interesting, and even a little unnerving, example of contrast.  
  
"We are all warriors in this village, Roxy," Kiga replied, "Even Miri in her own special way is a warrior on the grand battlefield. We all must do our part to protect one another, because we are more than just a random assortment of Pokémon gifted with thunder…We are a family."  
  
Upon hearing this, Roxy was now picturing it in a different way. It was kind of like a bully standing up against other bullies, at least to an extent. She had already come to trust that the Luxio and her family would not harm her, nor anyone else in the village, but now she was starting to see more of the connection. She was a warrior, just like Makari and Taka and everyone else.  
  
Roxy glanced down at herself, seeing that she was clean, and decided to get out before the cold water made her sick. "Thanks for talking to me," she said as she stepped out of the water and gave herself a quick shake to dry off.  
  
"It was a pleasure speaking with you as well," Kiga replied.  
  
"You wouldn't happen to have seen Taka, have you?"  
  
The Luxio shook her head.  
  
"Ah…Well…" She glanced down at the spear still in her paws. Kiga's words echoed in her mind, and she thought for a moment about her training. Her goals had changed so much since she had first arrived in the forest. "I, uh…I think I'm gonna go train now…"  
  
"On your own?"  
  
"Mhm… I dunno where Taka is, but I really should be practicing anyway." She turned and smiled at Kiga. "Besides, Makari will be back before long!"  
  
"Ah, yes," Kiga replied with a nod, "Well, that should be fun. I can tell you that training with your mate is a lot more enjoyable."  
  
If Roxy's brain were a computer, it would have totally bugged out and shut down with steam pouring out of the casing. She shot Kiga a stupefied look and moved her mouth uselessly for a few seconds, sputtering but not finding the words.  
  
"Wh- How- I'm- He's…It's just- We're not-" Any other words, or attempts at making words, were covered up by one of the most powerful blushes she had ever experienced in her life.  
  
Kiga tilted her head. "Is…something wrong?"  
  
Roxy reached up with her paws and dragged her ears down in front of her eyes, turning to face away from Kiga. "I-i-it's…It's not like…"  
  
"Are you two _not_ mates? Some of our brethren witnessed you two kissing."  
  
" _Yes!_ Yes…" Roxy stammered, "I- It's…Yeah, we kissed and we're probably gonna kiss some more and there's no point in hiding it or anything but I dunno why we'd even hide it and stuff…" She paused for just a moment. "I-I-I like him, and he likes…but it's not…we're…"   
  
Feeling like her face and heart were both going to explode, Roxy just groaned in frustration and shook her head. "I-It's no big deal, I gotta go, bye!"  
  
Roxy then ran away, her paws covering her face, and somehow feeling even more flustered than during her first kiss.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy practiced on her own for a couple of hours, which went pretty well. It was uplifting to see that her performance was improving, even on her own. The nice thing about not practicing with Taka was that she could take a rest whenever she wanted.  
  
At some time past noon, she wandered away from the training area for a break. She was hungry, but realized there was a bit of a conundrum. All of her food had previously been given to her by Makari, and she had no idea where he kept it. Frustrating though it may have been, it wasn't that big of a deal though. Makari was due to come back within the hour anyway.  
  
She wandered aimlessly through the village, waving hello to some of the Pikachu she knew. It was a quiet, slightly overcast day and not much was happening in the village. She had seen all that the village had to offer already, and so it wasn't long before she was bored. After meandering for a bit, she found a log near the village centre and sat upon it. Still, there was no sign of Taka.  
  
Roxy had dropped the spear back at Makari's hut, so now she was simply left to twiddle her paws. She wanted someone to talk to, but everyone else seemed either busy or otherwise occupied. Really there wasn't much to do except let her mind wander.  
  
Of course, the first thing she thought about was home. For a moment, she felt a little pang of guilt that she hadn't been thinking about home as much as before, but she shook that off. Home was no longer a hole in her heart, but rather a goal she was working towards. She knew she couldn't let herself get sidetracked by feeling down.  
  
At the same time, she still worried about her master's safety. She hoped with all of her heart that her master was safe and alive, waiting back home for her. Going home just wouldn't be the same if her master wasn't there.  
  
Roxy's ears perked up as she suddenly heard a commotion. She glanced around for a minute, trying to see where it was coming from, and then got up. Something was happening nearby. Pokémon were yelling, but they didn't sound fearful so it probably wasn't an attack. Roxy's curiosity was outweighing her trepidation.  
  
She passed by a few trees and huts and eventually saw a gathering of villagers. They were near to the edge of the village, on the opposite end from Makari's hut. Many of the Pikachu and other villagers there looked angry, but few were saying anything.  
  
"What is the meaning of this??" a voice shouted above the crowd. Roxy immediately knew who it belonged to.  
  
Roxy squeezed herself into the crowd, though taking care to stay towards the back, and looked ahead to see Natoka standing in the middle of the gathering. His forelegs were folded across his chest and he looked _very_ cross. Ozu was standing nearby, but he seemed to be letting the bigger Raichu do the talking.  
  
Standing across from them, with the crowd giving him a wide berth, was Tazoka. Roxy gasped at the sight of the Excadrill, standing there with an almost suave grin on his face. He looked extremely cocky, even amidst a whole tribe of Pokémon giving him death glares all at once.  
  
"My, my…" Tazoka said in that smooth tone of voice that made Roxy's skin crawl, "Is this how you greet your guests?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" Natoka demanded.  
  
Roxy shivered on the spot. She tried to hide herself behind others so that the Excadrill wouldn't see her if he looked over. At least he was here alone.  
  
"Now then, Natoka, perhaps you could change your tone of voice? We are all friends here, are we not?"  
  
"We have already given you the berries for this moon," Natoka stated, "There is nothing left for you until the next cycle of the moon."  
  
"Yes," Tazoka said with a raise of his claws and a step forward, "And we have greatly enjoyed your generous gift. Thank you _so_ much."  
  
"You _know_ what our agreement was…" Roxy could just _hear_ Natoka losing his patience quickly in the way he spoke.  
  
"Yes, yes, our agreement," Tazoka said with a lazy wave of his claw.  
  
"So, I will ask you one more time…" Natoka paused, and then he practically shouted, " _Why are you here?_ "  
  
Roxy caught it. It was just the briefest moment in time, but Tazoka shot a devilish gaze at the Raichu, his eye practically twinkling in mischief. He quickly covered it up with his phony smile and started chuckling.  
  
"Because I am hungry," he said, acting completely nonchalant.   
  
Many of the villagers, including the two Raichu, glanced at one another in confusion.  
  
"I figured," Tazoka continued, "that I would stop by and pick up a few more berries. The Earth Tribe loved them _oh_ so much, after all."  
  
"What-?" Natoka started to say.  
  
"So I am here to take another basket or two. When can you have them ready?"  
  
All at once, a murmur of confusion overcame the crowd. Many of the villagers could not help but express their bewilderment at what the Excadrill was saying.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Natoka boomed angrily, "Where do you get the audacity?"  
  
Tazoka simply held his claws clasped behind his body, gazing up at the Raichu with an impish little smirk.  
  
"You are too early, Tazoka," Ozu spoke up, "The agreement was to provide your tribe with food upon every cycle of the moon. In exchange-"  
  
"I am _well_ aware of the circumstances," Tazoka said, holding up his claw, "There is no need to bore me with the details. I just thought that your tribe would be only too happy to provide us with a few measly berries."  
  
Natoka growled, actually _growled_ , at Tazoka.  
  
"The _agreement_ was," the Excadrill continued, "that if you give us food, we will leave you alone. I think it is quite clear who the dominant party is in this little arrangement, would you not say? My tribe wants food, and they want it right now. If you give me the food…then we will leave you alone."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence.  
  
" _Understand?_ " Tazoka spoke venomously.  
  
"This is an outrage!" Natoka exclaimed, "An _insult_! Our two tribes have coexisted peacefully with this agreement, but these were terms that were agreed upon long ago. My father and your father shared a happy, friendly existence together. We shall not provide you with more food simply because you _want_ more."  
  
"Oh really…?" Tazoka said softly.  
  
Natoka punctuated his statement by crossing his forelegs and simply giving a defiant look.  
  
Tazoka shrugged. "Honestly, _I_ do not see what the problem is. What I want is not very much. My tribe wants some food, and you have food. You will all survive without it, I am sure."  
  
The Raichu growled again, louder this time.   
  
Roxy shrunk back, her ears laying flat against her head. This was starting to look like trouble. She wondered if now would be the best time to get the heck out of there. Though, part of her wanted to find out where this all went.  
  
"Do not worry yourself, Natoka, Ozu…" Tazoka said as he casually began to stroll forward, "I will just be taking my baskets and I will be on my way. Our tribe will continue to leave you alone. There is no need to be concerned about that."  
  
"Absolutely not," Natoka boomed, more than a hint of finality in his voice.  
  
Tazoka actually chuckled in response. He closed his eyes, shrugged once more, and there was that smirk again. "And…what exactly are _you_ going to do about it?" he asked.  
  
When he opened his eyes, though, he stopped short. For once, that smirk of his was wiped from his face. Roxy glanced over to see what had caught his attention, and silently gasped. Natoka's weapon was drawn. That alone would have sent her running if she had been in Tazoka's position. What sealed the deal, though, were all of the other Pikachu and Thunder Clan members who had started to crowd around Natoka. Many of them also had their weapons drawn, and _all_ of them had angry, defiant looks on their face.  
  
Tazoka was easily outnumbered, despite his type's immunity to Electric attacks. Roxy felt herself go pale. Was there about to be a fight? Was she about to be _caught in the middle_ of a fight?! Now, more than ever, she wanted to run away from this scene. Her legs, however, remained firmly locked in place.  
  
The Excadrill gave the surrounding Pokémon a wary glance. He was holding his position, looking like he was halfway from both baring his claws and standing down. Roxy could see him silently calculating the situation.  
  
Finally, the tense silence was broken. "Choose your actions carefully, Natoka," Tazoka said in a slow, deliberate voice.   
  
Natoka stared at him for a few more tense seconds, then simply said one word to him. "Leave."  
  
Tazoka glanced at the Pokémon one last time, and then finally took a few steps back. He didn't hold up his claws in surrender, like he had done the last time Roxy had seen him, but he did smirk once more and start chuckling. "Very well," he murmured, "Very well…"  
  
Then, without a single word from anybody else, Tazoka turned and walked away. A few Pikachu followed at a distance to make sure he actually left the village, but no-one else paid the Excadrill any mind.  
  
Roxy breathed a huge sigh of relief. She felt sick to her stomach. That scene could have easily devolved into fighting, which would have meant defending herself, which probably would have resulted in her getting hurt. What's more, Makari hadn't been there.  
  
She swore under her breath, trying to calm down as the other Pokémon started to disperse. Natoka remained behind to speak with Ozu. Roxy could hear the Pokémon talking among one another, but she couldn't hear anything specific. Mostly she was just focused on her racing mind. What did this encounter, this _incident_ , mean? What would happen? Suddenly, Roxy was a little more wary of the Excadrill and his Ground-type friends.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
The young Pikachu started slightly and glanced up. She noticed that everyone else had left, leaving her alone in the clearing with the two Raichu, and they were looking over at her. "Oh! Um…Hello."  
  
"Good afternoon, Roxy," Ozu greeted her.  
  
"Did you witness what just transpired?" Natoka asked.  
  
Roxy nodded, a frown on her face. "What…What's gonna happen?"  
  
Natoka sighed in frustration and shook his head. "I do not know…"  
  
"He was trying to exert his tribe's dominance over ours," Ozu observed, "They have never done such a thing before."  
  
"We craft agreements with them out of necessity," Natoka said, though Roxy could hear a hint of loathing in his voice, "But he cannot expect us to bow to his demands like this."  
  
"Of course not, I agree…" Ozu replied, "And yet…"  
  
Roxy shivered. "I hope…this doesn't mean trouble…"  
  
Natoka shook his head once more. "It should not. We will still provide them with food when the time comes. We have no interest in breaking this agreement. It shall only be broken by their paws."  
  
"Y-yeah…" Roxy murmured softly, "I hope so…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy wandered about for another hour, constantly checking over her shoulders. The confrontation in the clearing had shaken her, and she wanted somebody to talk to about it. Luckily, her day began to take a turn for the better when she saw that 'somebody' walking nearby.  
  
She sprinted as fast as she could, dashing towards the hut that she currently called home, and let out a joyful cry. "Makari!!" Roxy then leapt through the air and tackled the other Pikachu in a tight hug, sending them both tumbling through the doorway and sprawling onto the ground inside.  
  
Makari blinked in confusion for a moment, laying on his back underneath Roxy, but then smiled when he saw who she was. He hugged her back and chuckled. "Goodness, Roxy… Is that a new fighting technique Taka has taught you?"  
  
Roxy laughed and nuzzled the Pikachu that she had pinned beneath her. She giggled as his Static tickled her, and then the two found themselves gazing into one another's eyes. Without a second thought, the two shared another kiss.  
  
"I missed you…" Roxy whispered as she nuzzled him some more. She realized that she was probably being overly affectionate, but she didn't care.  
  
"I missed you as well," he replied, gently stroking her back, "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. I took a bath in the river, had a chat with Kiga."  
  
His eyes opened wider. "You bathed in the river all by yourself? Roxy, that is fantastic!"  
  
Roxy blushed a little and smiled. "Y-yeah, I guess… I took one of your spears with me… I hope that was okay."  
  
"But of course. Feel free to take one any time you need it."  
  
"I musta been too late for Taka, though, because he wasn't at the training spot when I got there, and I haven't seen him all day."  
  
"Ah…" Makari replied with a nod, "I figured as much. It was my fault, anyway. I will talk with him."  
  
Roxy giggled and nuzzled his nose. "I liked the vacation, though."  
  
There were a few seconds of silence as the two laughed and shared one another's company. Eventually, though, Makari requested that he could sit up. Once he did, he gave Roxy a serious look.  
  
"Did something happen today?"  
  
Roxy frowned and nodded.  
  
"But you are okay?"  
  
She gave him a demure smile and nodded once more.  
  
"That is what is most important."  
  
Now she was really blushing. She then spent some time telling him about Tazoka's unexpected arrival and what had happened. Makari listened with a stoic expression the whole time. She couldn't tell if he was just being thoughtful, or if he looked grim.  
  
"That is troubling news," he commented once she was finished, "I wish I had been there."  
  
"Wh-what d'you think's gonna happen?" Roxy asked, trying to keep the quiver out of her voice, "Are they gonna attack? Is there gonna be, like a tribe war??"  
  
"Calm down, Roxy. Let us not get ahead of ourselves. This is not the first time our agreement has been…strained. Cooler heads usually prevail."  
  
"I hope you're right…Tazoka scares the jeebees outta me!"  
  
Makari chuckled softly and gave her a smile. "Do not worry, Roxy. Things will work out, I am sure. I doubt that the wise ones would do anything rash."  
  
"Right…They said that they'd still give next month's food payment."  
  
"Yes, exactly. This is an insult towards us, to be sure, but we are not petty Pokémon. On the other paw, they should also know that we are not pushovers."  
  
Roxy smiled and gave him an adoring look. "Especially not Pokémon as strong as you, Makari."  
  
Now it was his turn to blush. "Hey…There are many in this village who are stronger than me."  
  
She gave him a playful shove. "None that I have seen."  
  
"Shows what you know," he said with a grin, "I am being pushed around by a little pet."  
  
She giggled. "Maybe you're right," she said, leaning in so that her nose was almost touching his, "Take me over there and I'll beat them all up!"  
  
"Hoorah! The saviour of the Thunder Clan!"  
  
The two held each other's gaze for a moment, then broke out laughing. Roxy leaned in and hugged Makari, and soon after the two shared another tender kiss. Roxy giggled at the touch of his lips and the feel of his paws gently petting her.   
  
Roxy melted into his embrace. She felt all of her worries washing away once again. Makari was back and she couldn't be happier. The world was perfect right now and she wanted nothing to change. Nothing could possibly ruin a moment like this.  
  
Makari broke the kiss and glanced to the side. Roxy followed his gaze, then felt all of the colour drain from her form. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw what was at the door.  
  
Standing there, staring at them with an expression conveying a hundred different emotions at once, was Taka. His mouth wasn't open and his eyes weren't wide, but there were a thousand words being expressed in his gaze alone. Roxy saw confusion, anger, frustration, and maybe even disgust and disappointment. All Roxy could think about was that Taka had just walked in on her lip locked with his brother. Yet another notch was added to her constantly growing scale of embarrassment.  
  
"H…Hi, Taka…" she murmured lamely.  
  
Taka glanced between them a couple of times. His brow was set hard, but his breathing was even and even though she could see his emotions, he didn't express them outwardly. He looked almost calm, though Roxy got the feeling that a thousand thoughts were flying through his head. Such was certainly the case with her. Finally, he levelled his gaze on her, making her gasp slightly. His piercing gaze almost felt like it had struck her right through the chest like an arrow.  
  
"Do not be late tomorrow," was all he said before turning and walking away.


	13. Excursion

It was astonishing.  
  
Still, to this day, it was absolutely astonishing to Roxy. It was like living in a dream that never ended, though not one that was _all_ bad. Three weeks had passed since the festival. Three whole weeks, and she was still here.  
  
And she was still alive.  
  
The sun rose, the bird Pokémon crowed, and Roxy was awake. She yawned, stretched her paws, and got out of bed, only to find that Makari had woken up earlier once again. A warm hug, a peck on the cheek, and Roxy walked over to the far side of the hut. Her collar was put on, the flower was put behind her ear, and Makari was back with breakfast.  
  
It was so routine at this point. It felt familiar. It felt…normal.  
  
Five minutes breakfast. That was all she could afford before Taka would be mad at her for being late. Breakfast with Makari was pleasant, and it made her smile. With food in her belly, she stepped out the door and made her way to the training area. Makari would be alongside her for today.  
  
Roxy had done this song and dance day in and day out. It felt so normal and uneventful, almost as if she wasn't still inside a deadly forest of death. Sure there had been incidents around the village, with some of the other denizens getting injured on patrol, or the rare case of a predator breaching the outer perimeter, and it all was a stark reminder of the danger she found herself in.  
  
Yet, right now, she was just getting ready to do what she did every day. In fact, she was starting to get good at it.  
  
"Show me all of your mastered skills," Taka instructed, stoic as ever, and handed her a spear. She took it in her paws, immediately gripping it in the correct way without even having to think about it, and set her sights on the target.  
  
"Go."  
  
Roxy didn't hesitate to show off her growing skillset of spear strikes and parries. Sure, she had always been told that the spear was the easiest weapon to master, but she was proud of her accomplishments. It still wasn't something she really _wanted_ to do, but Roxy was starting to believe that she could hold her own against a foe if she had a spear in her paws.  
  
Minutes later, her demonstration was over. Taka counted three small errors, and Roxy took them to heart, promising to rectify them. Makari gave his congratulations from the sidelines. Taka moved almost impatiently to his next lesson, and Roxy gave him her full attention.  
  
Just like yesterday, and the day before.  
  
The monotony of things was only just starting to become apparent to her. She wasn't sure how it made her feel. She wasn't even sure if it was a good or bad thing. However, she had training to focus on, and so she filed her questions away in the back of her mind. Makari was a great listener after all.  
  
The sun passed overhead. A few familiar villagers walked past the training area and bid her a quick, friendly hello. She worked hard with Taka to learn this new move, which was a sort of pole-vault technique she could use to distance herself from foes or get around obstacles. It was difficult, and she hadn't quite gotten it by the time it was noon, but she felt confident enough with it to practice it on her own.  
  
Then it was time for a food break. More yummy berries. Sometimes there was a delicious Leppa or two, but unfortunately not today. Taka did not allow for a very long break, and soon it was back to training.  
  
"Right," he said in that authoritative, but still somehow disinterested, voice of his, "I think it is time for you to try something new. A Thunder Clan warrior must be adept in multiple skills and be adaptable." He began to walk over to the piles of training weapons.  
  
Roxy allowed herself a little smirk. "Does that mean I'm improving? Am I getting better? Huh?"  
  
She yipped as Taka not-so-lightly whapped her on the back of her head with his tail. "Do not get a big head."  
  
"Oww…" Roxy murmured softly, rubbing her head with her paw.   
  
Taka picked something up, and soon after returned with a warped piece of wood. The ends were connected with some kind of 'string'. Roxy wasn't sure what it was made of; all she knew was that it was from a plant.  
  
He handed it to her, and Roxy took the bow into her forepaws. She looked down at it with interest, feeling its weight and simply marveling at this example of purely Pokémon construction. She had seen a couple of warriors with bows, mostly smaller females, but they were a rarity.  
  
"This is incredible," she said.  
  
"As I trust you can imagine," Taka continued, handing her an arrow, "the bow requires a much different set of skills. Instead of strength and stamina, one must practice patience, focus, and accuracy."  
  
Roxy held the arrow. It was made of wood, while the fletching was made out of colourful feathers. Where there would usually be a sharpened stone for the arrowhead, there was simply a blunt wooden block. Roxy guessed that it was another blunted tool used for training.  
  
"Try it."  
  
Roxy frowned. She always preferred to watch first and do afterwards. "Can't you do it first? I wanna see how it's done."  
  
"No. Just try it," he countered.  
  
This made her pout a little. "C'mon, Taka. I thought we were past this. I learn better this way."  
  
"Just _do it_ , and I will examine your form and technique."  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow, staring up at her 'teacher'. Taka was simply staring off into the distance with an impatient look upon his face.  
  
Suddenly, something occurred to her. In spite of herself, she couldn't help but feel a little smug. "You're not good at it, are you?" she said cheekily, "Isn't that what you said? Focus, accuracy and _patience_? That's not really your style, is it?"  
  
Taka stood there silently for a moment, not moving a single muscle. Roxy was silently enjoying this one, small thing she had found in her 'perfect' superior. Perhaps it was something she could do better.  
  
She then yelped in surprise as Taka suddenly snatched the bow and arrow right out of her paws. Without missing a single beat, he adopted the perfect pose, nocked the arrow, and drew the bowstring back. He only aimed his shot for a second before he let the arrow fly. Roxy watched, wide-eyed as the arrow zinged through the air.  
  
It didn't hit the targets. It didn't even hit the wall behind the targets, or even any of the nearby trees. That wasn't what Taka had been aiming for. The arrow sailed perfectly through the air, slipping seamlessly past treehouses and wooden platforms, avoiding every tree, until it landed in the open clearing where the festival had taken place. Even from this distance, nearly half the village away, Roxy could see that the arrow had landed _dead_ centre in the clearing. What's more, it was standing up, perfectly balanced on the wooden block with the fletching straight up in the air.  
  
Taka then simply gave her a cross look before turning on his heels and storming off. She tried to call after him, but Taka was gone. Today's lesson had apparently ended early.  
  
Roxy deflated, sitting down and frowning. She let out a sigh. Taka's attitude had shone through once again. It seemed she was no closer to his good side than she had ever been.  
  
A pair of forelimbs belonging to a body of warm fur hugged her from behind. Makari chuckled as he rested his head on her shoulder. "That may have been a little uncalled for," he said, but it was clear from his tone of voice he was not scolding her. Roxy got the impression that Makari may have once said the same thing.  
  
"I was just joking…" she said with a shrug.  
  
He laughed once more. "I know, Roxy. I know."  
  
They sat there for a moment in silence, just happy to be in each other's presence. Roxy had gotten more used to the feel of Makari's Static. She kind of liked it now. It was an exciting little tingle along her fur. Besides that, though, it was just so nice and comforting to be in his embrace. Even in the presence of no danger, she felt so safe.  
  
"Will he come back?" she asked.  
  
"Doubtful."  
  
"I'll tell him I'm sorry tomorrow."  
  
"Mm…"  
  
Another moment of silence passed as Roxy sighed and allowed herself to relax. She was starting to get better at controlling her own anxiety and emotions. This wasn't something that could easily be taught by anyone in the village, so she had to teach herself. It was all a matter of perspective. Here in the forest, worse things could happen than a Taka temper tantrum.  
  
"Makari?"  
  
The bigger Pikachu shifted a little. "Hm?"  
  
She paused for a moment and chewed her lip before asking her question. "Was he always like this?"  
  
Makari sat up. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Taka. You've known him since you were…well, since you were born I guess. Was he always like…this?"  
  
Makari shifted over and sat down beside her. Roxy turned to look at him, but his gaze was drawn elsewhere, deep in contemplation.  
  
"Yes," he replied, "…and no."  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow in confusion, but did not interrupt.  
  
"Taka has always been, and always will be, who he is at his core. Since cubhood, he has always had somewhat of an ego. He liked to feel superior, even in situations where he was not, and he could be boastful. At the same time, though, he has always been steadfast and loyal. On the grand scale of things, he always knew right from wrong and knew what needed to be done when it was time to act."  
  
Makari chuckled. "We would play games when we were cubs, and he would always insist on being the keeper of the rules. His temper would flare up if anyone was not playing the way he envisioned it. He has always been extremely dedicated, and this carried over to when he began to train with weaponry. It wasn't long at all before he was our toughest warrior, nigh undefeated on the field.  
  
"But he was not always exactly as you see him today. He used to be more upbeat and vocal, and always enjoyed moving rather than standing still. Believe it or not, Taka used to smile often. And then…he left."  
  
Roxy gazed up at him, as if she were listening to a fairy tale. "You mean on his journey to the forest edge?"  
  
"Indeed," Makari said with a nod, "He was starting to get restless and irritable. Though he would not break rules or disobey orders, he would often speak against the Wise Ones. Finally, he informed me one night that he was leaving. You can imagine my shock. I asked him where he would go, and he said that he did not know. He simply wanted to leave.  
  
"I tried to dissuade him. Everyone in the village, the Wise Ones included, begged him not to go through with this foolishness. Some even offered to go with him so that he would not have to face the dangers of the forest alone. To everybody else, this was pure madness. It made no sense to anyone. Everyone was asking why and where and how, but Taka gave no answers.  
  
"The Wise Ones ended up forbidding him to leave, and so he left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye to anyone."  
  
Roxy gasped. "Not even to you?"  
  
Makari just shook his head sadly. "He was gone for nearly four seasons. Everyone was worried and frustrated, all at the same time. As many moons passed, we all presumed that he was either dead, or not coming home. I had lost my brother. It was a pain I wish I could never feel again. The village mourned his passing. There was a funeral.  
  
"And then…he came back. Suddenly, without any warning, Taka simply showed up. He seemed tired, but not hurt. There was a joyous celebration. You cannot imagine how happy I was. My brother had come back from the everafter. This was a wonderful gift that few are privilege to."  
  
There were tears in Roxy's eyes. "Wow…" she whispered. She had never imagined that Taka's 'journey' had been anything like that, nor had she thought it had taken so long.  
  
"But Taka had changed…" Makari continued in a quieter tone. It sounded as if Makari couldn't decide how to feel about what he was saying next. "He was much quieter. For a while he barely spoke a word, not even to me. He was calm and collected, intensely focused. This allowed his already spectacular fighting skills to excel even further.   
  
"However, he was also aloof…distant…It was as if he were shutting himself away from the rest of the world, even from the village that was his home. It seemed like there was no more joy to be found in his eyes. We asked him where he had gone. What had he seen? Taka told us that he had walked through the forest without direction until it eventually ended. He discovered the human settlement and explored, before eventually turning around and coming back home.  
  
"That much is all he has ever said about his journey. He refuses to say another word."  
  
Roxy sat there in silence as she took in this new information. She stared off at nothing for a moment, trying to imagine it. What could have happened in the human world to have changed him so much?   
  
"Over the more recent years, he has opened up a little bit more. He can speak to others, he is active in his spare time, and he no longer distances himself from others. Yet, that Pikachu is still so much different than the brother I had once known."  
  
"Makari…" she whispered, "I had no idea. That must be so rough…I'm sorry."  
  
He smiled and softly nuzzled her. "Do not be sorry. Whatever has changed, he is still my brother and he always will be. I love him, and I know that he loves me. Family is the hardest tie to break."  
  
"That's good to hear," she said.  
  
"Still, though…I worry about him. There are days where I wish, more than anything, he would just tell me what happened."  
  
Roxy found herself gazing off in the general direction that Taka had left in. "He told me…" she said quietly, "He said there were things on that journey that he wanted to forget."  
  
"He has told me the same. It is the most he has ever told anyone."  
  
Silence passed as Roxy thought about the Pikachu that was her mentor. It was hard to imagine what could have happened to him. Roxy knew that cities could be a dangerous place for Pokémon, but what could have changed his whole demeanour like that? Had some evil organization like Team Rocket captured him? Had he been caught in a Poké Ball? Roxy somehow doubted the latter.  
  
It seemed like it would remain a mystery. Whatever it was, it had turned Taka into the sourpuss that he was now.  
  
Roxy shook her head. It wasn't fair to think of Taka in such a way. Something traumatic had obviously happened to him, and that was something Roxy could easily relate to. Whether or not he would admit it, perhaps that was something they had in common.  
  
"Well," Makari said, changing the subject, "Would you like to learn the basics of the bow?"  
  
Roxy tilted her head up to look at him. "Hm?"  
  
"I could teach you."  
  
The young Pikachu's ears perked up, and her eyes widened just slightly. Roxy enjoyed learning with Makari. He was a much more practical and direct teacher. He was certainly more…paws-on.  
  
Roxy blushed as she started to nod enthusiastically.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
As Makari had predicted, Taka had returned the very next day and lessons had continued. Roxy had offered him an apology, but he had pretty much ignored it. She had spent most of the previous day learning the basics of the bow and arrow, which involved a lot of arrows slipping uselessly to the ground at her paws.  
  
It was now the following morning, and Roxy was waking up along with the rising sun. She was getting quite used to waking up at this hour.  
  
Makari was already awake, as he usually was, but he was not getting breakfast. In fact, after yawning and rubbing her eyes, Roxy saw him walking through the hut's doorway. "Oh good. You have awoken," he said.  
  
"Mmm…?" she muttered half-sleepily, "Wha's going on?"  
  
"It is nothing to worry about," he reassured her as he went over and quickly picked out two Oran Berries, "The Wise Ones wish to see you."  
  
Instantly, Roxy was wide awake. "They do?" she yelped. A spike of fear had gone through her, though she wasn't quite sure why. She had never been summoned to speak with the Wise Ones before. Was something wrong? Had _she_ done something wrong?   
  
"Here," Makari said as he handed over one of the Orans, "Eat this along the way."  
  
"But…" she murmured as she clutched the fruit in her paws like a teddy bear, "Wh-what do they want? Why do they want to see _me_?"  
  
Makari smiled reassuringly and shrugged. "I do not know. I will accompany you, Roxy. You have nothing to fear." He then reached out a paw towards her.  
  
Roxy smiled bashfully and took his paw, allowing him to help her up. "I know…" she said, "I dunno why I reacted like that. It's not like they're gonna throw me out of the village, right?"  
  
To her relief, Makari laughed at that. "Certainly not. And if that were the case, I would probably walk right out of here with you."  
  
Makari then led her out into the village, still dim in the early hours of the morning. Villagers were waking up, warriors were getting ready for the day, and those on the night shift were yawning and returning to their homes. Roxy waved and said good morning to those she knew, but clearly there was no time to dawdle. Makari led her straight to the grove where the Wise Ones were.  
  
She was greeted by the sight of the three Raichu sitting there on top of the small mound of earth, just as they had been when she had met them for the first time. Karizu and Ozu smiled down at her as she approached. Natoka still wore a small, hardened frown. If she didn't know any better, she would have said Natoka was Taka's father.  
  
"Roxy! Good morning!" Karizu greeted her, "Thank you for coming."  
  
She smiled and bowed her head slightly. "Hello to you as well."  
  
"My, my…How long has it been since you arrived?" Ozu spoke, "It feels like a whole season has gone by."  
  
"More or less…" Roxy replied with just a twinge of grief.  
  
"Winter will soon be here," Natoka commented.  
  
"Oh!" Roxy perked up, "Does it snow here?" She smiled warmly as she was hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia. It hardly ever snowed back home, nor much of anywhere in Kanto. Her family was lucky to get one, maybe two, snow days a year. However, her master had taken her a few times to a ski resort in Snowpoint City. It was a veritable winter wonderland, and Roxy had many fond memories of her trips there.  
  
"We do," Karizu replied, much to Roxy's delight, "Usually for up to a moon's length."  
  
A whole month of snow? Roxy could hardly wait to make snow angels and have snowball fights!  
  
"Regardless," Ozu continued, "You have been staying with us for quite some time now, and it appears that things have been going well. Would you agree?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "Oh yes. It was tough at first, but I am starting to get more comfortable around here. Everyone has been so nice and accommodating." She glanced at Makari and blushed lightly. "Especially Makari," she added.  
  
"And your training?" Natoka all but butted in.  
  
She nodded again. "I can honestly say that I am doing better than I thought I would. If you had told me a month ago that I would be slowly learning how to fight, I wouldn't have believed you."  
  
Karizu smiled. "As we have been told. Taka has said that he is impressed by your progress."  
  
Roxy's train of thought immediately derailed. "He _did_??" she exclaimed. When Karizu nodded, she furrowed her brow. "Wow…He sure doesn't show it…"  
  
Makari simply chuckled from behind her.  
  
"According to what he has said, you have learned the basic skills of combat and have become moderately proficient with the spear."  
  
"I…" She paused for a moment. Some traitorous part of her anxious mind was trying to come up with some reason for her to disagree. Anything to prove that she _hadn't_ learned how to fight and defend herself. However, that evil part of her brain failed to come up with anything, which brightened her smile. "I have. Yes, I can say that I have. I…I might even feel comfortable in a battle now!"  
  
The three Raichu all nodded in approval. "That is good to hear," Karizu continued, "And from here, your skills will only increase."  
  
"That is why we have called you here today," Ozu added.  
  
Roxy blinked, gazing up at them in confusion. Was she not learning fast enough or something? Were they going to give her something different to learn? A part of her brightened at the thought of them perhaps replacing Taka with another teacher. Perhaps a certain strong, brave, nice-smelling Pikachu that happened to be standing behind her.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, she realized what the answer was before they even said it. Her blood ran cold.  
  
"It is time to put your training to use," Natoka said, "and contribute to the tribe."  
  
Roxy just stared up at them, suddenly feeling very small. She tried to work her tongue, move her lips, and voice any of the many protests that she wanted to express. Her body didn't respond though. She was stuck silent.  
  
"While we do appreciate all of the help you have been providing by doing small chores around the village," Karizu said, "it is time for you to step beyond our boundaries. Taka has told us that he believes you have the skills to defend yourself."  
  
"W-what?!" Roxy suddenly blurted out, catching even herself by surprise.  
  
"Roxy…" Makari started to say.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" she blubbered, "I-I-I can't! I can't go out on patrol out there in the dangerous forest full of danger, and…I…I can't go on patrol! I'll be killed! I know I've gotten better, but there's no way I…I'm not ready! I-I'm not…"  
  
"Roxy!" Makari interjected, "Calm yourself, please."  
  
"We are _not_ sending you on patrol," Ozu clarified, "My goodness, child, that would be cruel of us. Only trained warriors go on patrol."  
  
Roxy blinked, and then felt quite a bit of stress thankfully melt away. "O-oh…" she stammered, feeling a little embarrassed.  
  
"It is our request," Karizu continued, "that you join a group and collect food. Most of the berry bushes lie at the edge of our borders, and so we sometimes have to forage in enemy territory."  
  
"Foragers travel in groups," Ozu added, "It is much safer that way."  
  
Roxy considered this for a moment, but a shiver passed through her. This was better, but not all that much better. It would still involve her stepping out of her literal 'safe zone' and into a dangerous area. "I…I dunno…" she murmured. She had to mentally stop herself from reaching back and grabbing her tail to hug.  
  
"Roxy," Makari said, stepping up beside her, "Everyone in this village has a role to play. In order to survive, we must all do our part and work together. After all, that food that we eat when we wake up has to come from somewhere."  
  
"I…I know…" Roxy whispered.  
  
"The Wise Ones wish for you to contribute to our clan, but this task is much simpler and safer than others. I will be accompanying you, Roxy, as will a couple of other warriors. Should we be attacked, then my brethren and I will defend you."  
  
She perked up a little. Hearing that Makari would be along with her did make her feel heaps better.   
  
"Usually, only one warrior accompanies a forage group, but since you are new to this we shall adjust," Karizu said.  
  
"That said," Natoka spoke, "Our clan does not exist to merely cubsit you. Things may turn troublesome, and you will need to be prepared to defend yourself and others."  
  
"I, uh…Uhh…" Roxy stammered. This was a huge bombshell to be dropped on her so suddenly. She had always been fearing in the back of her mind the day when she would be expected to join the patrols. This wasn't quite there, but it was still something where she would have to put her skills to use. Faced with this, Roxy felt all of her confidence drain away and she felt like she hadn't gained any fighting skills at all.  
  
"You will be fine, Roxy."  
  
She turned to look at Makari, standing next to her and giving her a reassuring smile.  
  
"I will be there, and besides…You have gotten quite skilled at using the spear."  
  
"I…I guess, but…" she murmured.  
  
"Take care not to discredit yourself, Roxy. You _have_ skills now."  
  
Roxy gulped and forced herself to stop quivering. It's not patrol, she firmly reminded herself, _It'll probably only be as dangerous as bathing in the river, and Makari will be there._ Roxy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. _You can do this, can't you?_  
  
"Well…" she said finally, "I guess it's only fair, right?"  
  
"So, you agree to undertake this task?" Karizu asked.  
  
She hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then steeled herself and nodded. She even managed to put on a little smile. "Heh…I'll do it. It's gonna be scary, but…Well, getting food is important."  
  
"I am so glad to hear your enthusiasm, Roxy," Makari said, "It is my belief that this next step will be very important for you. For _all_ of your future endeavours."  
  
Roxy nodded again as she tried to quell the swirling negative emotions deep in the pit of her stomach. On paper, this was _not_ something she wanted to do. This would be terrifying, possibly life-threatening, and maybe even too much to expect from her. Honestly, she would rather curl up in Makari's hut and sleep the day away. However, she was indebted to these Pokémon for giving her shelter for so long. It was her responsibility to contribute to the tribe however she possibly could, and these were the rules of the clan.  
  
Beyond that, though, she could understand what Makari was silently implying. Doing this would better prepare her for her eventual trip home.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Okay, I thought I could do this…"  
  
"You _can_."  
  
"I-I dunno if I can do this…I-I-I'm not ready…"  
  
"Roxy, trust me. You will be fine. We are not even going very far."  
  
"B-but, Makari…"  
  
The taller Pikachu sighed and frowned, looking down at her with his forepaws on her shoulders. He was trying to reassure her, but things were not quite going as planned.  
  
The inside of Roxy's head was a mess. She was meant to head out with the others at noon. As the hour drew closer, she began to get more and more nervous. It felt like there was a panic attack slowly stalking her, threatening to collapse onto her at any moment. Doubt after doubt filled her mind, and any confidence that she had in her own skills was long gone.  
  
Roxy was honestly a little ashamed of herself. She had tried her best to overcome her anxiety and fears. She had pushed herself to keep going, and now it was only a few minutes before she had to leave. She was holding a brand new, finely-crafted, _real_ spear. And yet, she was starting to panic. She was more and more starting to consider the idea of quitting and hiding in Makari's hut until spring.  
  
"Roxy, I have been to this berry grove countless times in my life. The forest there is too sparse. There are few areas for predators to hide, so they hardly ever bother us there."  
  
"But…They might?" she asked timidly.  
  
"Well…" Makari hesitated and glanced away. "That is true. Nothing is certain, after all."  
  
Roxy let out a sigh so heavy that it felt like it was hurting her heart. She clutched the spear in a rather cub-like way and warily glanced over at the other assembled villagers. They were all Pikachu, and all were armed in some way. A couple of them were actually small and nimble like she was, while there were others who looked as strong and formidable as Makari was. A few of the latter group looked like they were bored out of their minds.  
  
In just a few minutes, she would be willingly stepping foot outside of the village borders and into the unknown. She and the group would still be within the borders of the _clan_ , but that didn't mean very much to her.  
  
"This is really happening, isn't it?" Roxy muttered, "This isn't a nightmare?"  
  
Makari turned his head and gazed down at her for a few silent moments. She looked back up at him and saw the indecision in his expression. "Roxy, I…" he finally said, "I will talk to the Wise Ones if you really do not wish to go…They will not be happy, but…" He sighed as well. "I cannot in good faith force you to do something you do not want to do."  
  
"R-really?" she asked, suddenly filled with hope. For a moment, she thought that if there was any way she could get out of this, she would take it in a heartbeat. Even if it were just a chance, she would gladly roll the dice and hope for the best.  
  
A few moments later, she wondered why she hadn't answered yet. "I, uh…"  
  
Roxy reflected on her situation for a few moments, and the damning reality started to dawn on her. She _needed_ to do this. The most important thing to her was her safety, and that meant staying safe in the village. However, doing so meant abiding by the rules of the clan, which were already being stretched in her favour.  
  
But that was secondary to what she already knew. Roxy needed to build her skills if she were to ever have a chance at getting out of this forest. Barring some random squad of rescue humans descending in a helicopter, there was no way out except to push through the wilderness. Taka was, indirectly at least, teaching her the skills she would need to accomplish that. This excursion, in a way, was just the next step in her training. It was sort of like a test.  
  
She took in a shuddering breath. It didn't make her happy to admit, but there was no way to completely avoid danger. Even when she _was_ able to make that journey back to the human world, there was still a sizable chance that she would simply be killed. If she wanted to make progress towards getting home, that meant that she would have to take risks.  
  
"No," she replied, "I'll do it." It took a bit of mental convincing, but her determination was resolute. She could tell herself what needed to do, and she was able to believe it as well.   
  
Now, if only she could overcome her anxiety regarding the matter, which was threatening to make her physically ill at this point.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes," she said quickly, "I gotta be able to do this. I gotta take this first step." After a pause, she added, "So let's do this before I change my mind."  
  
Makari paused for a moment, then smiled and put a paw around her shoulder. "Simply saying that is very brave of you, Roxy. I am proud of you."  
  
She nuzzled him, partly out of affection but mostly out of a sense of security.  
  
"I will stay beside you as much as I can. Any predators will have to go through me to get to you."  
  
"Okay…Okay…" she said in between deep breaths, "Let's go."  
  
Makari gave her one last proud smile before heading off to bark instructions to everyone. They were simple commands, and basically amounted to gathering the berries quickly and keeping a vigilant eye out for predators. The warriors would be there to fend off the attackers before they could reach the foragers, but the latter would still be holding weapons. Roxy nervously glanced down at the spear in her paws.  
  
She had to admit, though, that it was fun to watch Makari take up a leadership position. It made her smile to see him stand so confidently before his brethren, looking strong and dependable. Roxy couldn't help but swoon. Just a little.  
  
Then, before she even knew what was happening, the party was on the move. She gave a startled jump and then quickly moved to catch up with the others.  
  
Their group consisted of four warriors and five gatherers, including her. Roxy had been told that this was an unusual size for such an outing, but it was for her protection. She was, of course, grateful for this, but some part of her was just begging for even more protection. Perhaps about ten or twenty more warriors?  
  
As promised, Makari took up a position right next to her. It wasn't long before they had left the buildings of the village behind and were strolling out into the quiet, still forest. Roxy felt her blood run cold as she passed over the invisible barrier that marked her 'safe zone'.   
  
The sounds of the village faded away, slowly replaced by an eerie stillness. The only sounds that could be heard, aside from her own breathing, were the sounds of their paws treading upon the slightly damp grass.  
  
Roxy could feel her heart pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to burst right through her ribcage. She was focusing half of her energy into looking out for danger, and the other half to keep herself from panicking. It was not a very comfortable experience.  
  
The group moved quickly but silently. The warriors tried to surround the foragers as much as they could, forming a protective ring. Compared to when she had first wandered through the wilderness, Roxy felt leagues safer with Makari so close to her. However, she was still plenty terrified. She kept jerking her head this way and that, thinking she had heard or seen something.  
  
She was a little surprised when they reached the berry bushes. They had arrived much quicker than she had anticipated, or she hadn't realized how long they had been traveling. It was a bit of a relief to her that they had reached the berries without even seeing anything, but she knew her risky journey wasn't even half finished yet.  
  
Roxy gulped and watched for a minute as the other Pikachu started to gather the berries into their pouches. She saw how they kept their eyes on their surroundings. They weren't even looking at the very berries they were picking. After a deep breath and a little shiver right up her spine, Roxy stepped forward and began to pick the berries as well.  
  
Things were actually going okay. Roxy had expected to be attacked by a huge group of ravenous, wild Pokémon by this point, but no-one had even detected any foes. It was making her nervous. In her mind, things were going _too_ well.  
  
Roxy glanced up at Makari. She saw him standing nearby, keeping a vigilant lookout. His spear was drawn and held at the ready, and his eyes were slowly scanning their surroundings. She felt a little more secure just seeing that he was there.   
  
Her pouch slowly filled up. Once everyone's pouches were full, then they could head back to the village. At that point, Roxy promised herself that she would run straight to Makari's hut and find a way to lock herself inside with him, after which she would snuggle him until the sun rose tomorrow.  
  
With a jolt, Roxy suddenly realized that she was focusing on the berry bush and not paying attention to her surroundings. She quickly shot her gaze up and looked around in all directions in a near panic. Her eyes darted around, looking for the predator she'd missed that was about to maul her.  
  
Still, there was nothing. She and her group seemed to be the only living souls for miles around.  
  
Some more tense minutes passed, and then Roxy was surprised to see that her pouch was full. "All done? Everyone filled up?" one of the warriors asked. All of the foragers nodded, to which Roxy followed suit. "Good," he continued, "Let us head back."  
  
Roxy let out a tense breath. That was it then, it seemed. She had made it out to the berry grove and had helped to gather food for the village. Her companions busied themselves with tying their pouches closed with vines and slinging them over their backs. Roxy had a little trouble with her vines, so one of the others had to help her. She smiled Mareepishly in return.  
  
Finally, when everyone was packed up and ready to go, the party set out once more. Roxy had no idea how they all seemed to know which direction the village was in. Looking around, Roxy was completely lost. She could've been ten feet or ten _miles_ from the village for all she knew. Regardless, the party was moving in one direction and so Roxy followed. Makari fell into stride next to her, and the two shared a quick smile.  
  
Then, there was a quick flash of movement and one of the Pikachu was gone. Roxy gasped in surprise and confusion. There was a cry of pain, and everyone turned their attention to the left.  
  
One of the warrior Pikachu had been knocked to the ground and was struggling to get back up. Standing over top of him was a growling, snarling Houndoom.   
  
Roxy felt her heart stop for a brief, terrifying moment. When it restarted, thumping like crazy, she couldn't help but scream. Her eyes were drawn to the predator's sharp claws, which were being used to hold the Pikachu down, its massive horns, and its frighteningly sharp teeth. It was attempting to bite the Pikachu's neck, who was struggling to keep the beast from doing so.  
  
"Roma'a!!" one of the other warriors shouted, and suddenly there was a flurry of activity. All of the warriors drew their weapons and quickly advanced on the Houndoom. They quickly struck out at it fearlessly, causing it to halt its attack on Roma'a in order to defend itself. Roxy's eyes shot open wide as she watched spears and daggers penetrate the flesh of the predator without it even slowing down.  
  
All around her, the foragers were drawing their weapons too, including one with a bow and arrow. With their burden of berries still tied around their necks, they smartly did not join the fight. Each one, though, looked ready to defend themselves should trouble come to them. Roxy knew that she was supposed to draw her weapon as well.  
  
But she couldn't. She was frozen on the spot.  
  
The Houndoom suddenly swung its head, bringing its horns around towards its attackers. The warriors were forced to dodge back, but one unlucky Pikachu's spear was cleaved in two by the sharp horns. He barely batted an eye, holding onto the sharp end as if it were a long knife. Not ten seconds into the fight, and sparks began to fly. Thunder attacks lanced through the air towards the Fire-type Pokémon, who did its best to dodge.  
  
"Puny weaklings!!" the Houndoom growled, reminding Roxy that predators could, indeed, speak.  
  
The Houndoom then quickly swung its paw towards the attacker on its right, causing Roxy to scream in shock. Makari, however, quickly brought up his spear lengthwise to defy the blow and swiftly took a strategic step back. The other two standing warriors quickly moved in to counterattack.  
  
Suddenly, the Houndoom yelped in pain. Roxy spied a small wooden arrow that had dug itself into the beast's flanks, and she looked over to see the forager with the bow. The Houndoom looked furious and ready to pounce on the easier target, but Makari and his two companions were quick to stop this. Roxy stared in a strange mix of awe and terror as Makari attacked the predator with his spear. It was like an extremely dangerous, yet oddly enticing, dance that the Pikachu was putting on. If this weren't so life-threatening, it would be beautiful to watch.  
  
"Roxy!!" someone shouted, "Draw your spear!!"  
  
The terrified little Pikachu jumped in shock, her eyes darting around wildly. She could hardly focus on anything; her mind was just pure panic and chaos. She breathed in quick gasping breaths, feeling a pain in her chest as her heart beat like wild. She was so terrified that she felt sick to her stomach and about to throw up. Draw her spear? She felt like she could barely _function_.  
  
One glance over at the snarling Houndoom and his terrifying glare managed to jolt her into taking action. She reached back to pull out her spear, but her body was trembling and her paws kept fumbling with it. She glanced back to see what she was doing and was finally able to properly grasp the weapon.  
  
" _Roxy!!!_ "  
  
She quickly snapped her head up towards Makari's sudden shout. He gave her a warning look, and she realized that she had already committed a grave error by taking her eyes off of the danger. A horrible sensation rippled through her body as she realized that she could have just died if luck hadn't been on her side.  
  
Unfortunately, it wasn't on everyone's. Makari too had committed an error. With his attention drawn towards her, he didn't see the Houndoom's paw swinging right towards him, claws extended. Someone else shouted to him, and he barely had time at all to bring his spear up. Roxy screamed in terror as Makari was struck, the claws drawing blood, and the force sending him back through the air. He slammed back-first into a nearby tree and fell to the ground in a heap.   
  
"Makari!" she screamed in shock.  
  
This was bad. This was _really_ bad. It was like a nightmare come to life. She was out in the wilderness, a heavy pouch of berries tied to her back, and faced with a predator that three warriors were having _difficulty_ taking down. Makari and his mates had managed to subdue the Mightyena and the Zangoose without much trouble, but this beast was refusing to go down. If all of the warriors were knocked out, what possible chance would she have?  
  
Taka's training was telling her to dive into the fray and help out, even if she couldn't do very much, but even the thought terrified her straight to the core. This was exactly what she had anticipated would happen once she had set foot outside of the village, and it was just proving her point that she wasn't ready for this. She could feel herself shutting down. The fear and the panic was just too much. Tears streamed from her eyes as she quivered on the spot like an overcharged Voltorb. She was utterly frozen with fear, unable to attack and unable to run away.  
  
The two remaining warriors were keeping the beast at bay. There were many tiny rivers of blood from the many places their spears had penetrated flesh. Additionally, the Pikachu with the bow and arrow was still distracting it and doing some damage. The only thing Roxy could do was hope that the Houndoom would eventually give up and run away.  
  
There was a spot of movement in the corner of her eye, and she glanced over to where Makari was laying. The Pikachu was sitting himself up and rubbing his head. Despite her fear, Roxy felt her spirits lift. He was okay!  
  
"Gah!" one of the warriors shouted before tumbling into Roxy's field of vision and rolling haphazardly along the ground.  
  
"Look out!" the other one shouted less than a second later, as Makari's expression turned to horror.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as Roxy turned her attention back to the scuffle. The Houndoom had set its sights upon her, and had batted the Pikachu away with its paws. She barely had time to open her mouth to scream, as the beast was already leaping through the air directly towards her with its teeth bared.  
  
As she stared death in the face, terror attacking every inch of her body, she did the only thing that she could. Roxy clenched her eyes shut, cowered, and let out a blood-curdling scream.  
  
Half a second later, there was a loud high-pitched sound and she was suddenly pinned underneath a heavy weight. The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the ground hard. Her eyes were held closed, but she could feel copious amounts of a warm, sticky substance that could only be blood. In that moment, Roxy was absolutely sure that she had been killed.  
  
A dead silence filled the area, bringing with it a strange calmness. The first indication to the contrary was that Roxy didn't feel any pain. Aside from the rather heavy thing laying on top of her, Roxy felt physically fine. Was that just because she had been killed so suddenly that she couldn't feel the pain, or something? Roxy opened her eyes cautiously, but all she saw was black. She tried to say  something, but her voice came out muffled.  
  
What was going on? Was this some kind of weird purgatory? Roxy lay there in complete confusion for a short while, finding it difficult to breathe. Panic still coursed through her veins.  
  
Then, she heard the sound of someone grunting with exertion. The weight atop her shifted, and then it was finally lifted off of her. The world of light returned to her, bringing with it the gift of vision, and Roxy beheld the other warrior Pikachu looking down at her in concern.  
  
"Roxy!!" Makari said as he stepped towards her and immediately started to help her sit up. There was great worry in his voice, which was reflected in his expression.  
  
Confused, dizzy, and afraid, Roxy glanced down at herself. She paled and nearly vomited when she saw that she was _covered_ in blood. Her whole body was dripping with the vile substance, immediately bringing forth the question of how in the world she was still alive.   
  
When she focused her attention, though, she couldn't find any actual wounds. Her body was intact, if perhaps a little bruised. She lifted her head and glanced over to the side as the realization hit her. This wasn't _her_ blood.  
  
Roxy's eyes opened wider than ever as she saw the Houndoom lying nearby on its side, deathly still. The corpse was covered with just as much blood as was on her, and the source was not easy to miss. Sticking out from a sickening wound in the centre of its chest was her spear, driven halfway through the Pokémon's body.  
  
Ice coated Roxy's heart, and slowly spread through her arteries until her whole body was frozen. Her breath caught in her throat, causing her to make strange little gasping noises. Tears began to stream from her eyes, though she didn't sob. She simply stared straight ahead, unmoving and wide-eyed as she beheld what had happened. What she had done.  
  
Someone was calling her name. "Roxy??" Makari said as he gently shook her, "Are you okay? Please, Roxy! Say something!"  
  
Roxy blinked. She continued to stare at where the spear plunged into the body of the Houndoom, and the rivulets of blood still trickling out. It was horrifying, vile and disgusting to look at, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. She wanted to speak. She wanted to _scream_ and never stop, but she couldn't. All she could do was stare at the dead body with her spear sticking out of it.  
  
"Roxy!!" Now Makari was starting to sound really worried. There was a hint of desperation in his voice.  
  
Slowly, as if time itself had slowed to a crawl, she turned her head to look at him. For a minute or two, she stared just as silently at him. In her peripheral vision, she could still see the corpse. She closed her eyes for a moment, but she could still see it.   
  
"Roxy…?" Makari asked, holding onto her shoulders with his forepaws. She had never seen him look like this before. He looked to be on the verge of tears himself.  
  
Finally, something broke inside of her and she started to sob. Her body simply collapsed forwards, and luckily Makari was there to catch her. As if taking revenge on the silence that had ensnared her, Roxy found that she couldn't stop wailing.  
  
"It is okay, Roxy…" Makari said, though there was a slight quiver in his voice. He gently patted her back.  
  
Roxy hugged him tight, crying like a traumatized little cub. She wanted to close her eyes and bury her head into his warm fur, but she couldn't even do that. She simply couldn't take her eyes off of the bloody Houndoom.  
  
"What-?" she croaked, "Wh-what did I _do_?!"


	14. The Power Within

Roxy hugged the warm blanket around herself like a cloak as she sat on the little bed. It covered her from head to toe, even covering up her face. She was shivering and whimpering, tears streaking down from her eyes. To her, this blanket was the only thing protecting her from the scary, dangerous world outside.  
  
There was a loud _BANG_ and Roxy cried out in terror. She scrunched herself up even more into a tightly-wound ball of stress. Everything around her was so terrifying. She wanted all of the scary things to just go away and leave her alone. This was way too much to handle.  
  
Roxy had never been more terrified in her whole life. She felt sick. Fear had such a tight grip on her, that it felt like a ghostly claw had reached through her body and was squeezing her insides. It was hard to breathe, her stomach wouldn't sit still, and her heart wouldn't stop beating. She couldn't take much more of this.  
  
She heard footsteps nearby, but she hardly noticed. She was too focused on being scared. Then, however, she heard a voice call out to her. It was the voice belonging to the one being in the whole world who could possibly make this better.  
  
"Roxy…?"  
  
Ever so cautiously, she parted the blanket and peeked out at the outside world with one terrified eye. "P…Pi…?"  
  
Her master was there, kneeling down close to her tiny little Pokémon bed. She was smiling and looking at her with a reassuring look, which was enough to bring Roxy back from the verge of panic. Suddenly, the little Pichu felt herself being lifted up into her master's arms, blanket and all.  
  
"Roxy, what's the matter?" her master asked in a soft, soothing tone.  
  
"Pichu…" Roxy whimpered, hugging her master through the blankets. This was fine. Things were okay now. Her master was here to hold her and keep her safe, and she wouldn't have to hide in her master's bedroom anymore.  
  
 _BANG!!_  
  
"Pichu!!" Roxy exclaimed in sudden terror, flailing out with her paws wildly. She scrambled to hide her face both inside the blanket and in the crook of her master's arm. She shivered like a leaf from head to tail.  
  
"…You're scared of the thunderstorm?"  
  
"Pichuuu…"  
  
"Oh, sweetie…I'm sorry. I didn't know. I would've come home sooner if I'd known…"  
  
Her master embraced her for a few minutes, gently rocking her and whispering soothing words whenever the thunder would strike. Roxy was still so young, and she was learning new things every day. Unfortunately, she had learned about thunder and how _terrifying_ it could be while she was home alone. She'd been hiding under the blankets for at least half an hour, and the storm wasn't going away.  
  
"Roxy…" her master whispered once the thunder struck again and Roxy started to cry.  
  
"Chuu…?"  
  
"I know you're scared. I know the big, loud sound is scary…Right?"  
  
Roxy softly nodded.  
  
"Well, you know what?"  
  
"Chu?"  
  
"It's scary because it's strong, and it's powerful. And you know what else? That thunder is something that's inside of you."  
  
Roxy blinked, then glanced down at her own belly as if she could see inside. "Chu…?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"You're a Pichu," her master continued, "Once you grow just a little older, you'll be able to harness that thunder and make it dance for you. I know it's loud and I know it's scary, but it can't hurt you. It won't hurt you because you've already got thunder inside of you. It's a _part_ of you.  
  
Roxy just glanced up at her master's reassuring smile, listening closely to her every word. There was a tiny sparkle of wonder in her eyes.  
  
Then the thunder flashed once more and she cowered in fear again. True or not, her master's words alone weren't enough to suddenly make everything okay.  
  
"Oh, Roxy…I'm here."  
  
What _would_ make everything okay was already there. No matter how scared she was, no matter how bad things seemed, Roxy knew that her master would make it better. She always had, and she always would. Roxy trusted her life to her master, and she was always confident that her master would be there to make the scary things go away.  
  
And if she couldn't? Well, a hug was almost as good. Roxy snuggled up against her master and gave her a tiny little hug back. The storm wouldn't leave for another hour, and she wouldn't be able to smile until then, but everything would be okay.  
  
Everything would be fine.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy's eyes were wide and unmoving, staring straight ahead. The memory was so fresh in her mind. She could clearly remember exactly how she had felt, because she felt the same way now.  
  
It was eerily similar. She even had a leaf-woven blanket held tight around her body. The young Pikachu couldn't stop shivering, couldn't stop her heart from hammering away, and simply couldn't relax. When others talked to her, she didn't respond. When given food, she didn't eat. She was exhausted, but she couldn't go to sleep. There was simply too much going on inside of her head.  
  
She had killed a Pokémon.  
  
 _Killed_ a Pokémon!!  
  
The blood was on her paws. She could see that literally by looking at the red pawprints on the shaft of her spear. Roxy knew that it had been an accident, and she knew that the Houndoom had been trying to kill her, but those facts seemed to be of little comfort to her. A month or so ago, she had never gotten into a fight, not even a friendly little scuffle, and now she had taken another's life.  
  
Since heading back to the village, Roxy hadn't been able to utter a single word. Others had tried to talk to her, but she didn't speak. She hardly even reacted. There were a thousand things she wanted to shout and cry about, but nothing came out of her mouth. She simply sat there with a dark, troubled look on her face.  
  
Roxy felt sick to her stomach. She would be throwing up if she hadn't already vomited three times and now had nothing left to bring up. Inside of her was a horrible sensation, the likes of which she had never felt before. It felt like there was something drastically wrong with her that she couldn't fix.  
  
The scene replayed itself in her mind endlessly. It was all she could think about, and all she could see. The Houndoom leapt at her, she held up her spear, and then she was a murderer. It had happened so fast. She felt like an important part of her had died and was never coming back.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
She didn't respond. She hadn't even heard him come in.  
  
"Please eat something."  
  
She was then vaguely aware of a Sitrus Berry being placed in her paws. A moment later, it tumbled to the ground in front of her.  
  
"Roxy, you…you _have_ to eat something," Makari whispered.  
  
The other Pikachu stayed nearby for a good ten minutes, the latter half of which was spent in silence, before he gave up and left. Roxy hadn't moved an inch. She paid no mind to the abandoned fruit lying at her paws.  
  
Roxy could swear there were voices in her head. _You killed him,_ they said, _You destroyed him. You made him bleed, you made him hurt, and you took his life. Who else's life are you going to take?_  
  
For not the first time that day, tears rolled silently down her cheeks. Still she didn't move, still she didn't cry, but the anguish inside of her couldn't be silenced. She just couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Because she didn't know what she would do if she did.  
  
Hours passed. The loud growling of Roxy's stomach went unnoticed and unanswered. A few more times, others tried to speak to her. They were all unsuccessful. It was strange, because Roxy had a thousand things she wanted to say to each and every one of them, and yet she knew that she was afraid to talk. Afraid to speak.  
  
Afraid to act.  
  
 _You killed him._  
  
'No…' she thought back.  
  
 _You will kill again._  
  
'No I won't…'  
  
 _It could be someone you care about._  
  
A powerful, nearly painful, tremor ran through her body and made her shed more tears. Try as she might, she could not picture herself as anything else. She was a murderer. A killer. Even the most intense and painful Pokémon battles never ended with a dead combatant. It was unheard of. If anybody knew what she had done. If her _master_ knew what she had done…  
  
Her master would never forgive her. She would never speak to her again, nor want anything to do with her. Roxy could see herself sitting on the street outside of her house in the pouring rain, never to be let back in again. When she tried to fight off that ghastly image, she instead saw herself in a Pokémon control facility, about to get a lethal injection. Vicious Pokémon had to be put down, after all.  
  
An anguished sob escaped her lips, but nothing more, as she considered the ramifications. Where could her life possibly go from here? She wanted to go home to her master, but now she felt like she couldn't. She was a dangerous murderer now. Her master would want nothing to do with her. Roxy tried as hard as she could to hold onto the hope that her master would forgive her, but it was not easy. She just couldn't imagine life going back to the way it was anymore. Everyone would always know, in the back of their minds, that she had killed someone.  
  
Her ears perked, picking up a quiet discussion from just outside the door. She must have drifted off, as they seemed to be in the middle of their conversation.  
  
"We cannot…" one voice said, clearly belonging to Makari.  
  
"She will be fine, I am sure," another voice replied. This one was Natoka's.  
  
"I…am afraid I do not share your optimism," the third and final voice added. Roxy recognized Karizu's voice.  
  
"What are we to do, though?" Makari asked, sounding quite conflicted, "Where do we go from here?"  
  
"The first time outside is always difficult. It will become easier for her over time, and we will be there to help her along," Natoka replied confidently.  
  
"Are you _joking_?!" Makari hissed back angrily, "You have seen her, have you not? Look at what this has done to her! Even I cannot talk to her. She will not eat. She is in _bad_ shape!"  
  
"I will not deny that, but…"  
  
"We…We cannot send her out again," Makari said softly, "We simply cannot. It would destroy her. I mean…" There was a pause, as if he were looking in through the doorway. "I have never seen anything like this before. This is more than fear. This is more than terror. This event has affected her soul in a damaging way… It pains me to see her like this."  
  
"I am very concerned for her wellbeing," Karizu added.  
  
Another moment of silence. "She is not from here," Makari said afterwards, "She is not wild like us. We cannot force her to change, because this is quite simply not her world. We cannot send her out again. Of this I am sure. She was…She was not prepared…and neither were we."  
  
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Natoka replied, "She cannot simply be an extra mouth to feed."  
  
"I…I do not know…" Makari sighed. "Right now, I just want to make sure she is okay…"  
  
The voices left, leaving Roxy alone with her thoughts once more.  
  
Through the next silent hour, things felt eerily still. It was as if the world was somehow moving on without her, leaving her behind. Roxy felt like she was in grave danger, and wanted to cry out for help, but couldn't find a way to make her mouth work. She vaguely recalled one of the words that the ones outside had used. 'Broken'.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
Once again, she was vaguely aware of the presence of Makari. The other Pikachu walked up next to her, and then just stood there in silence for a long while. She didn't turn to regard him.  
  
"Roxy…" he whispered in a quiet, trembling voice. His words sounded haunted and troubled. "…Please."  
  
Still she said nothing.  
  
"Please talk to me, Roxy…" he pleaded, leaning forward and placing a paw on her shoulder.   
  
She stiffened and shivered at the touch.  
  
"Please, Roxy…" Makari said, repeating that one word, "You…You _have_ to eat something…I…I want to talk to you, Roxy. I want to help."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up a little when she suddenly found herself hugged. Makari embraced her tightly, holding her close and simply remaining there for a minute or so. Roxy could feel his breath on her fur, and she could feel the beating of his heart.   
  
"Roxy…" he whispered even quieter, almost inaudible, "You are scaring me so much…"  
  
Roxy started as she felt something wet drop onto her shoulder. Her eyes grew wide. Was he…crying?  
  
"…What am I?"  
  
She felt Makari sit up suddenly as the quiet words slipped past her lips. "Roxy?"  
  
Roxy shivered. It felt like something was wrong with her and she was going to pass out. "What…What am I now?" she asked, though she didn't turn to look at him.  
  
Makari was silent for a moment as he considered the question. "You…are what you have always been," he answered, a little confused, "You are a Pikachu, you are a loyal pet, and you are a member of the Thunder Clan."  
  
"Is that all…?" she spoke in a haunted voice.  
  
"Well, I…" Makari stumbled, "You are a friend, a student, a family member to your master…and a lot more to me…"  
  
Roxy softly shook her head. "I feel different now…"  
  
Makari placed a paw on her shoulder. "Maybe, but you are _not_ different."  
  
"Friend, student, family member…pet…?" Roxy shut her eyes as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "A _murderer_ cannot be any of those!" she hissed.  
  
"Roxy-" he started to say, but Roxy cut him off.  
  
"I can't be who I was before! I…I'm not a killer…Roxy is not a killer…but, I killed him…" She trembled. "I can't stop thinking about it…What I did…"  
  
Makari then reached a foreleg around to hug her. "Roxy, you are not a murderer," he said in a soothing voice, "One cannot murder in self-defence."  
  
"I feel sick."  
  
"I know…You really should eat something."  
  
"I've…I've never even harmed anyone in my life…ever… Before the Zangoose, I had never been in a fight…Not even a little scuffle with a neighbour's mean pet or anything. That was who I was…Now I've taken someone's life."  
  
"Who was trying to take yours."  
  
"Does that make a difference?"  
  
"Of course!" Makari half-exclaimed, "It makes all the difference! It is the difference between killing that Houndoom, and killing _me_!"  
  
Roxy shivered and hugged herself, curling up tighter.  
  
"I…" Makari faltered, "I am sorry, Roxy. I should have chosen my words more carefully."  
  
"G…Go away…"  
  
There was a moment of tense silence. "What?" Makari finally whispered.  
  
"You're right…I…I could kill you next…and I don't want to…"  
  
Instead of following her request, though, he snuggled up even closer to her. "You are not going to kill me, Roxy. Not on your worst day. You have not changed, Roxy. If that Houndoom had attacked you in the same way when you were back home with the humans, I am sure you would have done the same thing."  
  
Roxy mewled in fear and clutched herself tighter.  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
She could feel herself on the verge of crying.  
  
Makari placed a paw on her shoulder. "Roxy…Please…"  
  
Roxy hesitated, but then slowly lifted her head up to gaze at him with one eye.  
  
The look in his eyes was shocking. She had never seen him look at her like that before. It looked as if he was scared for her life, and that one wrong move would take her away from him forever. In his paws he clutched the Berry, which he held out to her once more. "Eat."  
  
She gazed down at it with a look of repulsion. "I'm…" she whispered, "…n-not hungry…"  
  
He didn't respond though. She just looked up at him once more and saw that same look in his eyes. It melted through something cold that was within her, making her squirm. Finally, she gingerly reached out to take the Berry, her limbs trembling as if the fruit could somehow hurt her.  
  
Roxy grasped the Berry and held it before her, and for a while she just stared down at it. It was if her brain wasn't working properly. When she started bringing it up to her mouth, she was still trembling and she lost her grip on it. The fruit hit the ground, and she grimaced.   
  
She started trying to work up the force of will to pick it up again, but she stopped short when Makari's paw reached forward and picked it up for her. As patient as a parent dealing with a young cub, he held it out to her once more. This time, his paw remained gripped onto it for a few moments after she had taken it.  
  
Roxy took a little nibble of the fruit, chewing it softly and taking everything at a ridiculously slow pace. Even this simple act of eating fruit was making her anxiety spike through the roof. Nothing seemed normal or safe to her anymore, not even eating something she had eaten plenty of times before.  
  
After swallowing, though, she regained enough bravery to take bigger bites. She still ate somewhat slowly, but Makari just sat there patiently with her and waited in silence. Because it had been empty for so long, her stomach couldn't decide whether to be happy or upset with the sudden introduction of food. Roxy felt the urge to throw up, but it never happened.  
  
Eating the Berry had given her the energy that she had very much needed. Unfortunately, however, her treacherous mind then used that energy to make her start crying uncontrollably.  
  
It hit her so suddenly, like a faucet turning on. Her whole body was instantly wracked with sobs and she quickly collapsed onto Makari in a desperate hug, bawling her eyes out.  
  
Makari didn't say a single word. He just sat there with her, gently stroking her back and hugging her tightly. Occasionally he would gently shush her and nuzzle her, but he could tell that words wouldn't be very effective right now.  
  
Roxy cried as the sun set, completely losing track of time. There was so much pain and anguish in her mind that she thought it would never end. She tried to let as much of it out as she could, but it didn't seem to help. There was still hurt inside, and it hurt bad.  
  
Roxy thought she would never stop crying, though eventually she started to. Once the last rays of the sun had disappeared from the sky, she had been reduced to just quietly sobbing and letting a few tears fall and stain Makari's fur. She couldn't tell if she felt any better, or just as bad as before.  
  
"M'kari…" she hiccupped.  
  
"I am here."  
  
"I don't know how to handle this…"  
  
"I am here for you, Roxy. Whatever you need."  
  
She sniffled. "But I dunno what I need…"  
  
He nuzzled the back of her neck, which did help her calm down a little.  
  
"I…Um…" She turned to face him. "I feel so…s-so…" Then, she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I…Ngh…It just feels like something's wrong with me…and I'm scared."  
  
"There is no need to be afraid, Roxy," Makari said soothingly. He then reached forward and gently caressed her cheek, causing her to open her eyes once more.  
  
She gazed up at him in silence, caught in his gaze. She sat there for a moment and simply stared at him. This was Makari she was looking at, and yet she didn't feel like she usually did when she looked at him. There was still this overwhelming sense of wrongness, as if what she was seeing wasn't really happening. There was some part of her brain telling her that Makari wouldn't be treating her like this after what she had done. The guilt she felt deep in her heart hadn't abated. It hurt just as much.  
  
But, his gaze did at least help her calm down. Her eyes slowly scanned over his familiar features, resting for a moment on his reassuring smile. She felt her own breath gently, calmly, leave her body.  
  
"Muh…" she whispered, "Makari…?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
She gulped, feeling an anxious jitter crawl across her skin. "Would you…kiss a murderer?"  
  
His hazel eyes gazed back down at her, the fading light dancing in them. She felt her stomach twist and turn as she waited for him to respond, terrified of what the answer might be.  
  
"No."  
  
A tiny little gasp escaped her lips as her heart stopped dead, an icy feeling spreading through her whole body. Then, before she could react any further, he swiftly leaned in and locked lips with her. Roxy squeaked in surprise at the unexpected kiss, confusion filling her brain. She melted a little bit under the intoxicating act, though she mostly just felt perplexed.   
  
When the two broke the kiss and both panted for a moment, Roxy was more confused than ever. Slowly, she turned her gaze up towards Makari once more.  
  
"And so," he said, "I am ever so thankful that I can still kiss you."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Sleep finally claimed the poor young Pikachu, whether her mind wanted to accept it or not.  
  
Her slumber was filled with inner turmoil. She had troubling lucid dreams that only consisted of the same mental anguish she had experienced while awake. It wasn't like the human movies where dreams somehow revealed the answer to her. She still had no idea how to handle what had happened to her.  
  
What she had done.  
  
In her dreams, she saw images of a ravenous, violent Pikachu, running amok through the forest and viciously murdering any Pokémon she came across. She wore the painted stripes of the Thunder Clan, but hers were painted in the blood of others. Roxy watched from the sidelines. She knew that she wasn't that creature, but she also knew that creature was her. It made her brain hurt.  
  
Other times, she found herself being shunned by the Thunder Clan. Everyone she knew looked down at her in disgust, even Miri, Makari and Taka. They turned their backs on her, refused to listen to her protests, and forced her outside of the village. Fences and gates comprised of bloody spiked logs encircled the village, ensuring that she would not be allowed back inside.  
  
So, in her dream, she turned around and went back home again. Her house was not too far away, as things often were in dreams, but it was all wrong. Somehow, her house had been turned into a heavily fortified prison or fortress. There was no way in, and hastily-written messages in blood warning her to leave and never come back. Tears in her eyes, she gazed up to the tallest tower. There, she saw the disapproving gaze of her master, staring down and shaking her head.  
  
Roxy turned away and tried not to look at the horrible sights. It was so distressing, but deep down she knew that she deserved it. She was a killer, and this was the mind of a killer. She was certain that she would never be the same Pokémon ever again. Not since this had happened. She shed a tear for the innocent young Pikachu inside of her that had just died.  
  
She shifted in and out of lucidity. Her mind was constantly assaulted with terrible, horrifying images and dark memories of what she had done. It was so uncomfortable. She could feel her sins crawling all over her body as she tossed and turned. Something was wrong with her, she was absolutely sure of it.  
  
With a gasp, Roxy suddenly awoke.  
  
 _Cold!_  
  
Roxy let out a shuddering breath, which she could see before her as a puff in the air. She swiftly sat up and hugged herself. The earliest rays of the sunrise were just peeking in through the doorway of Makari's hut, and it was cold. It was absolutely frigid.   
  
She breathed quickly in shock for a moment, then stopped herself from doing that when each breath started to sting her throat. She was already shivering like crazy, and scrambled to grab her blanket. It took her a moment to remember that all she had was the woven-leaf blanket, and it didn't do very much against _this_ level of cold.  
  
"Brrr…" Roxy had been quivering like a leaf all of last night and now she was doing it again, but for an entirely different reason. It was shockingly cold outside! Yesterday had been a little nippy but hardly anything she couldn't handle. Now, only a single night later, it felt like the temperature must have dropped at least 20 degrees!  
  
She tried to breathe properly and rubbed her paws across her fur to generate warmth, but it did little to help her. Roxy had _never_ been in weather this cold before in her life. Perhaps she had experienced something like it at the ski resorts she'd visited in Sinnoh, but there she'd had home-made woolen winter clothing and the warm hug of her master. Here, all she had were a few leaves.  
  
The cold weather felt incredibly distressing. The cold, numbing feeling crept across her skin until no part of her felt warm anymore. Her extremities quickly began to lose their feeling, and her throat stung with every breath. It felt like her tail was just going to freeze and crack off!  
  
"Makuh…" she tried to speak, "M…Makari…!"  
  
The other Pikachu roused next to her and sat up with a yawn. "Roxy…?" he muttered blearily before stretching his legs out and focusing. Her turned and regarded her. "Roxy? What is the matter?"  
  
"It's…It's c-c-cold…!"  
  
Makari's eyes drifted upwards a little and his nose twitched a few times, as if he were reading the air quality. "Ah yes, I suppose it is rather chilly today."  
  
" _Rather_ chilly??" Roxy snapped.  
  
He returned his gaze to her. "Are you…too cold?" he asked with a tilt of his head.  
  
"Y-y-yes!!" she barked, "I-I-I'm gonna f-f-freeze to death…!"  
  
"Really?" he asked, slightly incredulously, "I feel okay. It is colder, yes, but…"  
  
Roxy shook her head in frustration and tried futilely to wrap herself up tighter in the leaf blanket. How could he not be cold?! Even if he had 'gotten used to it', it was still _stupid_ cold out! "Oh gosh! I didn't know it could get this c-c-cold…!"  
  
Makari shook his head a little, as if realizing that he had forgotten something, and quickly moved over to give her a cozy hug.  
  
Roxy sighed in relief as she felt his body heat. His warm hug was like magic in this cold weather. She felt no embarrassment about snuggling herself as close to him as possible and nuzzling his soft, staticy fur. He was a much better blanket than the leaf one.  
  
A moment later, she opened her eyes in confusion. "Uhh…" she muttered. Makari wasn't really hugging her as much as he was methodically running his digits through her fur. She twitched a little as he hit a ticklish spot. "Makari…?" she ventured, "What're you doing?"  
  
"Where is your winter coat…?" he asked in a soft voice.  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow. "My what?"  
  
"Your fur," he clarified, "Your winter coat has not grown in."  
  
She blinked, realizing what he was referring to. Roxy had read about it in the encyclopedia once. Many Pokémon with fur, especially those who lived in colder climates, grew a thicker coat of fur to keep them warm in the winter. Now that she paid attention to the way his fur felt, Roxy could tell that it was longer and thicker than when she'd first met him.  
  
"I…I don't have one…?" she asked.  
  
"I do not think so…" he murmured, "It is perhaps a little thicker, but…"  
  
"But why…?" Roxy tried to think back to her time at home. She had never really paid attention to her fur, or at least to the length of it, and so she couldn't remember if she had ever had a winter coat before. Kanto was not a very cold place, and during the winters she would spend a lot of time inside her master's house with the heater on.  
  
Was that the case? Did she not have a winter coat because she hadn't grown up in a climate that had required one? Now that she was suddenly thrust into a different place, her body hadn't been able to adjust.  
  
"I…guess I don't have one…" she said quietly.  
  
"Is this…because you are a pet?" Makari asked, clearly just as confused as she had been.  
  
She shook her head and explained her rationale.  
  
"I see…" he replied, "That is…troubling…"  
  
Roxy shivered a little, even in his warm embrace. She did not want to let go of him. His natural body heat was the only source of warmth around. There were no real blankets, comforters, furnaces, heat lamps, windows to close, or hot chocolate around here. She was out in the elements, and had no choice but to face them.  
  
"Does…it get any colder than this?" she asked.  
  
"Perhaps a little colder when it snows," he replied, "but this is usually how low the temperature drops. This was quite unexpected for today."  
  
"Good…I don't think I could handle anything colder…"  
  
"I know it will not be pleasant, Roxy, but you should eventually get used to it and it will not seem as bad."  
  
"I hope so…Still, I wish there was something I could do about it…" Roxy grimaced against the cold and thought back to all of her collected memories of this place. Everything was so simple and primitive. Aside from the buildings and weapons, this was a place untouched by anything humans had created. Even her collar, of all things, stood out like a sore thumb. Here, everything was connected to nature and these Pokémon were pretty much wild. Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true, she reminded herself. They did have that wonderful festival.  
  
Suddenly, she brightened up. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Fire!"  
  
"Huh?" He blinked. "Fire?"  
  
"You can build me a fire! Ah, I mean…Could you build me a fire? To keep me warm?" Since she figured he wouldn't know what 'campfire' meant, she indicated with her paws the size and shape of the fire she wanted on the ground.  
  
"Ah, hmm…" he replied, "Yes, I can do that for you."  
  
Roxy smiled gratefully and gave him another hug.  
  
"It is usually discouraged," he added, "but I will explain the situation to the Wise Ones."  
  
"Thank you, Makari! Thank you so much! I really didn't expect this."  
  
Makari patted her shoulder. "Do not worry about it, Roxy. I will handle it."  
  
So, Makari went to set up the campfire in the middle of the hut. Unfortunately, this left Roxy sitting in the cold without his warm hugs, but she tried her best to tough it out. Makari gathered some sticks and rocks from outside, dug a small pit in the dirt, and started to construct the kindling.  
  
Roxy huddled herself up by the wall and watched. Her mind was totally focused on how cold it was. She felt like someone had taped ice cubes all over her body. If this kept up, she was sure her fur would turn white and she would become an Ice-type.  
  
"Are you feeling okay?" Makari asked as he put on the finishing touches.  
  
"I-I'll be fine…"   
  
Makari flashed her a smile and then turned back to his work, but Roxy couldn't miss the wistful sigh that followed. Makari didn't really seem upset, but he did look troubled by something.  
  
Thankfully, it wasn't long before the kindling was finished. Makari picked up one of the torches that he used at nighttime and lit it with a spark of electricity. He then touched the torch to the kindling and Roxy was delighted as the campfire suddenly sprung to life. She eagerly hopped to her paws and scampered over to sit next to it.  
  
"Careful," Makari warned, "Not too close."  
  
"Mmm…!" she hummed in delight, holding up her frozen paws to the warm fire, "Just like our fireplace back home…"  
  
Makari smiled once more.   
  
"Thank you, Makari! You're amazing! I don't think I coulda done all this!"  
  
"You are very welcome, Roxy." He then pawed over towards her and leaned down to give her a quick nuzzle. "I am going to speak with the others about this," he said, "Perhaps one of our brethren may have a more permanent solution."  
  
She nodded. "Okay. Don't be long!"  
  
Makari walked over and picked up a Leppa Berry, which he gave to her before smiling and nodding. "I will be back soon."  
  
She waved goodbye to him and watched as he walked out the door. Then, she sighed to herself and lounged back a little, trying to warm up as much of her body as possible. She had become a Pika-popsicle and was determined to get rid of every last inch of coldness that remained stuck to her.  
  
Eventually, she found herself just sitting on her rump and staring into the dancing flames, feeling their wonderful warmness caress her body. _This is nice…_ she thought. She and her master had never gone camping before, but she imagined that this is what it would be like. The crackling sounds of the fire were soothing and the gentle smell of burning wood was a new and interesting scent.  
  
It was cold out there, and she could still feel the bite of the chilly weather, but that only made the warmth of the fire feel so much better. She let out a sigh and found herself relaxing quite nicely. Her eyes were drawn into the flames, watching as they danced and twisted with one another. It was like a fascinating show, a performance of orange and red dancers on a stage. It just felt so nice. So very warm.  
  
 _Warm like the blood of the Pokémon you killed._  
  
Roxy's shoulders slumped as she felt her heart sink. The cold weather had been a perfect distraction, but now she was all by herself with nothing to think of except what she had done. All of the hurt and anguish from last night returned to the forefront of her mind.  
  
 _You killed him._ There seemed to be a persistent voice inside of her head. _With your own paws, you took his life. You spilled his blood and made sure he would never breathe again._  
  
Roxy shut her eyes and grimaced, shaking her head.  
  
 _He probably had a family._  
  
Tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
 _You can't go back and fix this. This is who you are now._  
  
"No…"  
  
 _You're a ruthless, merciless, cold-blooded killer!_  
  
"No!!" Roxy shouted. She opened her eyes and stared straight ahead as she panted heavily. The flames seemed to intensify before her. They burned furiously and angrily, reflecting in her tear-soaked eyes. The fire seemed to reflect the one that was consuming her heart. It was angry at her, just like anyone else deserved to be.  
  
"I'm sorry…" she whispered to no-one in particular.   
  
As she sat there and stared, crying silent tears, the fire continued to burn. It no longer seemed as beautiful as it had been before. It was like staring at pure carnage happening right before her eyes, yet she couldn't look away. Was this how she was going to see the world now? With everything bathed in the rage of flames? Maybe, after one kill, it would just get easier and easier for her. Wasn't that how serial killers were born, like she used to see on _CSI: Saffron_?  
  
It was a permanent change. That was the absolute truth among this. No matter how she looked at it, positively or negatively, she would forever be a killer. She couldn't undo the fact that she had killed someone, even if she grew to accept it.  
  
"What do I do now…?" she whispered to the flames.  
  
They continued to dance, continued to burn, but they did not answer.  
  
"How can anyone still…like me…if they know I'm a murderer?"  
  
Still, the flames could offer no guidance.  
  
Roxy sighed and hugged herself. "I don't want to be like this…" she whimpered, "I don't want this to be a part of me…" She sniffled. "I-It was an accident… I just panicked and I didn't even realize what had happened…"  
  
For some reason, she still paused as if waiting to see if the fire would say anything.  
  
"I'm sorry…" she whispered again, "I just…I-I hate myself right now…" A sob escaped her lips. "I'm scared of myself and I dunno what to do…"  
  
The fire was warm and it gave her a wonderfully warm hug, but it was still as silent as ever. The flames seemed both angry and wise, but could provide no council. For the moment, Roxy truly was all alone. She didn't know how long she sat and just stared into the fires, letting her eyes get lost in that complex, mesmerizing dance of colours.  
  
"Brother, have you-"  
  
Roxy was startled by the sudden intrusion, and nearly jumped to her feet. She held a paw to her chest, feeling her heart hammering inside, and looked to the doorway.  
  
Taka gazed in and locked eyes with her. "Oh…" he said disdainfully, "It is you."  
  
"T…Taka?"  
  
The warrior Pikachu shifted his eyes to the side, as if trying to avoid looking at her. "Where has Makari gone?"  
  
"I…" There was a tremble in her voice. "I dunno…He went to go look for something warm."  
  
Taka's eyes glanced to the campfire. "Is that why _this_ is lit? You are going to burn down his hut."  
  
"Sorry…" she whispered distantly. She slowly turned her head back towards the fire and slumped forward. The flames once more danced in her eyes. Honestly, she was just too distressed to deal with this right now.  
  
There was silence, but Roxy didn't hear Taka leaving. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he spoke up. "Is this still bothering you?" he asked. There was a harsh cutting tone in his question, but he didn't raise his voice.  
  
She lamely nodded her head.  
  
"You _do_ realize that you are being ridiculous, right?"  
  
Roxy simply shrugged, and then there was another minute of silence.  
  
Then, she cried out in shock as Taka suddenly grabbed her rather forcefully by the paw. "Look at me!" he barked, pulling on her paw so that she would turn and look at him.  
  
All this accomplished was a spike in her anxiety. She shivered and tried to scramble away from him. "Ow! Taka…! You're hurting me."  
  
"Listen."  
  
She fell quiet, but her nerves didn't quiet down. Taka was glaring at her with a frightening intensity, leaving her to just quiver on the spot and stare back at him with a trembling lip and tears in her eyes.  
  
"Stop this," he said, plain and simple.  
  
"Wh…What…?"  
  
"Stop acting like a little cub when, really, nothing that bad has happened to you. You have been attacked by a Zangoose, an Aggron, a Mightyena, have been poisoned, and have come face to face with the Earth Tribe. None of those broke you. This Houndoom should not either."  
  
She just stared back at him, unable to make herself respond.  
  
"You are a part of this tribe now, and this tribe needs you," he said authoritatively, "We protect our young, but they do not stay young forever. Eventually they grow up, learn to defend themselves, and contribute to the wellbeing of the tribe. This is not one of your fancy human _hotel_ s. So, get over it."  
  
"But…" she started, and then hiccupped as more tears threatened to overcome her. "But I…I _killed_ him!"  
  
His flat look didn't change. "And?"  
  
"I…" She struggled for a few minutes, asking herself how to explain the obvious. She had just committed a murder. What was so difficult to understand? "I'm not a murderer!" she finally settled on.  
  
"Of course not."  
  
Now it was her turn to give him a flat look. "Yes I am. I killed that Houndoom. I did it. No-one can deny it."  
  
"From what I have heard," Taka replied, "you successfully used your weapons training to defend yourself from an attacker, just like we had practiced. I would have given you a pass if we had been training."  
  
"But I never _killed_ you! This was-"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
Roxy meeped and fell silent.  
  
Taka closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly, and then regarded her once more. "Tell me," he said, slowly and evenly, "What was that Houndoom doing to you?"  
  
She blinked. "He was…attacking me."  
  
"'Attacking you' is what I do to you during training. Try again."  
  
"He was going to hurt me!"  
  
"The answer to that is the same as the last. Come on, you _know_ the answer. Just say it."  
  
Roxy was confused at first, but then she realized what it was that Taka wanted to hear. "He…" she spoke slowly, feeling that saying the words themselves would bring up dark memories, "He was…trying to kill me."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
A few tears formed at the sides of her eyes as she thought back to the ghastly event, but she kept her gaze locked on Taka and awaited what he would say next.  
  
"Killing is a crime. A sin. It is something that should never be done," Taka explained calmly, "But ask yourself who broke this cardinal rule first. It was not you. _He_ did. This was more than just self-defence, Roxy. In a way, you can even think of it as a form of justice."  
  
Roxy tilted her head. "Wh…what do you mean?"  
  
"The fact is," he said as he stood up straight and crossed his forepaws, "that by trying to kill you, that Houndoom forfeited his life."  
  
For a moment, Roxy just sat there. She stared at him, drinking in his words. For a moment, her mind couldn't decide on a way to respond.  
  
"To be a murderer is wrong," Taka said, "but there should be no guilt in killing a murderer."  
  
"I…" Roxy croaked, but her voice fell silent. She didn't know what to say in light of this. In a way, it did make her think of things from a different perspective. Yet, at the same time, she didn't feel any less guilty.  
  
Then she furrowed her brow. Was this really guilt she was feeling? Or was it just fear?  
  
"Buck up," Taka said as he turned and started to walk out of the hut, "I expect you for training soon."  
  
He began to walk through the door. "Taka, wait!" she called out after him.  
  
Taka paused in the doorframe, and turned back over his shoulder to regard her.  
  
"How…" she started to say, and then felt her words get all jumbled up again. This whole conversation with Taka had come out of nowhere, and she hadn't been prepared at all for it. "How do I…move on?" she finally asked.  
  
"You just do."  
  
Roxy groaned quietly. "I feel like…I did something…" A shiver passed through her body. "… _evil_."  
  
"What would have happened had you not taken that Houndoom's life?"  
  
A stab of guilt went right through her heart, but she tried to clear her mind and think rationally about the question. "I would be dead-"  
  
" _Besides that._ "  
  
Roxy winced at his sudden snap. "I, um…He would go back to his tribe, I guess? With f-" Her stomach suddenly lurched. "With…food," she whispered.  
  
"And then? The next day?"  
  
"He would go out again…and…" Roxy blinked and her gaze fell to the ground below. "…killed again."  
  
A moment of poignant silence passed. The only sound that could be heard was the ever present crackling of the fire.  
  
"It is dangerous out there," Taka said, repeating something she had heard and said multiple times, "Going out to get food is a risk…for predator _and_ prey. He knew the risks when he left the safety of his tribe. He knew what you or any of us could have done, and he did it anyway. Just remember that he struck first."  
  
Roxy stared at him as he turned and walked away. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know what it was, and so she was left in silence. Then he was gone and she was alone again. Alone with the fire. Roxy unceremoniously flopped onto her side with a groan.  
  
Until Makari returned, she simply laid there and stared into the fire.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Roxy? What's the matter?"  
  
The frightened young Pokémon simply curled up tighter and quivered. "Pichuuu…" she whined.  
  
"Are you still scared…?"  
  
Roxy sniffled as tears filled her eyes. She looked up at her master with a fearful gaze. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from shivering. So, she was incredibly grateful when her master scooped her up in a warm hug.  
  
"The thunderstorm is gone…" her master said softly, "There's nothing to be scared of anymore."  
  
The little Pichu simply shook her head.  
  
"No? Something else?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"What?"  
  
Roxy just hugged her master back and whined. She knew the limitations of their communication, and she knew this would be difficult to get across. She could only hope that her smart master could figure it out.  
  
A few minutes of silence passed, until her master finally broke it.  
  
"Is this about what I said?" she asked quietly, "About having thunder inside of you?"  
  
Roxy grimaced and flinched, all but confirming that her master was right.  
  
"Oh, Roxy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," she said as she gently pet the little Pichu, "It's not a bad thing, and it won't hurt you."  
  
"Pi-Pichu…"  
  
"Did I make it sound like something bad was inside of you?"  
  
Roxy just softly nodded.  
  
There were another few minutes of poignant silence. Her master hugged her tight and slowly rocked her like a baby cub. Roxy just couldn't stop shivering and she didn't feel well. It was horrible, being unable to relax like this.  
  
"Roxy, sweetie…Listen."  
  
The Pichu tilted her head and looked up into her master's eyes.  
  
"You just have to look inside of yourself…You see that scary thing, and you know it's there. Maybe it frightens you, but that's fine. Just picture it and know…Believe, Roxy, that you can control it. It is inside of you, and it is a part of you, but that just means you can control it. Just like your paw or your tail, it is _you_ and _you_ are in control. It can only hurt you if you let it."  
  
Roxy stared in silence for a few moments. "Pi…chu…?"  
  
Her master smiled warmly. "Lightning _is_ scary, I know. But this lightning is right in here." She extended one of her fingers and gently booped Roxy's tummy. "It's yours to control and do with as you please, and it can't hurt you!"  
  
"Chu?"  
  
"Yes, really! Just look inside of yourself, face the thunder, and tell it that it can't hurt you. Scream it if you have to! But it's a part of you, and you _can_ control it."  
  
Roxy fell silent as she considered her master's words. She still wasn't entirely convinced.   
  
The young human hugged her tight. "I love you, Roxy."  
  
A tiny smile appeared on Roxy's face and she nuzzled her master affectionately. "Pichu Pichu…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy lay on her side, her eyes wide open and staring out into blackness. There was no more fire burning. The hut had gone dark. After a long, cold day, thankfully the temperature had gone up a little bit so that things were at least bearable.   
  
However, now that night had fallen, Roxy found herself unable to get to sleep. Makari was sleeping curled up next to her, one of his forepaws draped across her midsection. His warmth was a welcome respite from the chill outside. Roxy felt warm, safe and secure, in all places except in her mind.  
  
That first thunderstorm, years and years ago, was still very fresh in her mind. She could remember her master's words without flaw. They hadn't exactly been helpful per se; it still took her a couple of years to stop being afraid of thunderstorms. Yet, now she found herself thinking on them.  
  
Though it wasn't safe to have the fire pit burning while they were asleep, Roxy imagined that it was still lit. She gazed into the imaginary flames and pictured herself getting swept into them and lost in their dance. She calmed her mind and felt the world slip away. She wasn't quite asleep, but she wasn't quite awake either.  
  
Roxy saw herself standing in a featureless room, totally bare except for the campfire burning nearby. Instinctively, she made her way towards it so she could warm up. As she stepped closer, though, it suddenly flared brightly.  
  
To her astonishment, from out of the flames themselves stepped another Pikachu. This wasn't just any Pikachu, though, and Roxy stared at her with wide-eyes. She was looking at herself.  
  
Even so, it wasn't an exact copy of herself. This Pikachu's collar was in tatters, and some gaudy metal spikes had been sloppily fashioned on. The flower was gone, as was half of one of her ears. There were scars and bloodstains all over her body, patches of missing fur, and a few dirty bandages here and there. Most notable was the spiked chain belt she wore over her shoulder.  
  
The other Pikachu smirked at her, making Roxy back away slightly. "Who…" Roxy whispered, "Who're you…?"  
  
'Scarred Roxy' rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Don't you recognize your own face, you weakling?" she spat.  
  
Roxy flinched. It was so frightening to hear her own voice, but with such a biting tone. "I…I don't understand…You look like me, but you…I've never looked _quite_ like that ever before."  
  
The Pikachu facing her just closed her eyes and shook her head. "Such a naïve fool…" she muttered, and then gave Roxy a hard stare. "I am what is going to happen to you," she snapped, "I'm the Pikachu you will become. Isn't it epic?"  
  
There was a moment. Roxy blinked, utterly baffled. "N…No."   
  
Now the other Roxy frowned. "Whaddaya mean, 'No'? Look how tough I am!" She flexed the muscles on her foreleg, which made Roxy feel distinctly uncomfortable. "Check out these babies! Can rip a predator's head right off!"  
  
"I didn't mean to kill him…" Roxy whimpered without much conviction, "He- He was attacking me…I'm don't wanna be a murderer."  
  
"That's too bad, 'cus I'm a grade-A killer. Been killing my whole life! Sometimes just for the fun of it!"  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and shook her head. "Y…you're not me…" she whispered.  
  
"Beg pardon?"  
  
"You're not me. I'm not like that! I…I'm never gonna kill ever again!"  
  
Her doppelganger gave her a flat look. "Oh, is that so?" she asked scornfully, "So, the next time a predator is bearing down on you and you can't escape, then you're just gonna sit there and let 'im eat you?"  
  
"…No."  
  
"I think it's pretty obvious. The only way out of some situations is to kill somebody."  
  
There was a long moment of silence, and then Roxy sighed. "I…I guess…maybe you're right… I suppose sometimes I have to defend myself…'cus…" Roxy sniffled. "'Cus I wanna see master again…"  
  
"Keep practicing and you'll get better and better at it!" the copy goaded her, "What's a little bit of forest to an unstoppable killing machine? _Nothing_ would stand in your way, and you could go straight home to master!"  
  
Roxy continued as if the other Pikachu hadn't even spoken. "But…I'm not you…"  
  
"You _do_ realize that I actually am you, right? Same body and all that jazz? Look, here's that birthmark."  
  
"I'm not you," Roxy said, a little louder this time.  
  
"C'mon, don't be stupid."  
  
"I'm not you!!" she shouted, growing more confident with every second. She could tell, just by looking at this horrible _thing_ that it wasn't her. She had been calling herself a murderer, but _this_ was a murderer standing in front of her. Roxy was nothing like that!  
  
"I'm not you…" she repeated, "You're just a part of me…A small little part of me…You're the part of me that is… _able_ to take another's life."  
  
"You can't all that a 'little' part, numbskull!" the other Pikachu shot back, "Murder changes people!"  
  
"Not if I don't let it…" Roxy took a deep breath, calmed herself, and then stood strong before this horrible vision of herself. "You're right…" she muttered, "Maybe I will have to take another life, if something happens…I hope, hope, hope that it never does…but it might. And that is when I will use you."  
  
The other Pikachu was looking at her with an arched eyebrow, but Roxy could see that she was starting to get unsettled.  
  
"I know I killed, and I know I can kill again…but I won't! I won't unless I…really, really have to! Until then, you can just stay down here! …Wherever here is."  
  
"You think you can just _control_ a wild, untamed murderer?" the other Pikachu demanded, throwing her paws out wide.  
  
But then, Roxy actually smiled. "I can…" she said with a nod, remembering everything her master had said, "I'm still me. I know that because I'm out there. I'm sleeping by the fire, I'm snuggling with Makari, and I'm _scared_. I'm not you. I'll never be you. But you are a part of me now, and…"  
  
"You can't-!"  
  
"I'm okay with that…"  
  
Suddenly, a powerful icy wind swept through the featureless space. The other Pikachu was instantly frozen in a block of ice, after which she tumbled away in the powerful gust. In a brief second, she was gone. Roxy was relieved, but that icy wind was hitting her too. It was so cold! She started to hug herself and twist around in discomfort. So cold!!  
  
Roxy gasped, suddenly wide awake. She glanced around blindly in the darkness, unable to see much of anything. After a few confused breaths, she quieted herself down and listened. From the sounds that she could hear, it just sounded like a cold wind had swept in through the doorway and had given her a chill. It was already abating.  
  
She shivered from the cold, thinking about the dream she'd just had. It was so vivid in her mind, and she could remember every detail. Had her conviction in those words been true? Was she really going to be okay with what she had done?  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and thought back to the altercation with the Houndoom. When the memory of that fatal spear strike played itself in her mind, she physically winced. She could swear that she could hear that 'evil' killer version of herself laughing. There was still regret and even disgust at what she had done.  
  
At the same time, though, she focused on that maniacal laughter. She thought about _why_ she had stuck her spear out at the Houndoom, and what would've happened if he hadn't impaled himself on it. The sound reasoning was there in her mind. It had always been there, and she had just been too anxious to see it. With a determined mental thought, she told that bad version of herself to shut up.  
  
Roxy would try her best to never kill again. Unfortunately, the time may very well come when she would have to do it again. She closed her eyes once more and grimaced against the chilly air.  
  
She felt Makari shift behind her. Without waking up, the other Pikachu snuggled up closer to her and wrapped one of his paws tightly around her. He drew her into a much warmer hug, which quickly started to stave off the feeling of cold. Roxy lay there for a moment, her eyes staring unseeingly ahead. Then she sighed as a little smile tugged at her lips. If nothing else, she felt so _secure_ in Makari's hug. Even when he was fast asleep, he still cared about her. He could tell that it was getting cold.  
  
So, cuddled up against her warm Pikachu companion, Roxy's eyes fluttered closed. This time, she was able to sleep peacefully.


	15. Farewell

"They have not arrived yet…"  
  
"Troubling indeed…"  
  
Roxy glanced down from the raised walkway at the two Pokémon walking below. Karizu was speaking with a Pikachu she didn't know the name of, but it was clear that both of them were anxious about something.  
  
Roxy sighed. She had lost track of time, but it had to be at least one month and a half into her 'exile', if not much, much more. It had been just over a week since the incident that had shaken her to the core. After a day of recovery, training with Taka had resumed, but that was all. No-one had asked her to join any more expeditions outside of the village. At least, not yet.  
  
She had tried her best to come to terms with what had happened, and she was just now starting to feel okay with herself. The more she, unwillingly, thought back to the incident, the more and more she viewed it as a freak accident. If she had actually been brave enough to fight back against the Houndoom, she knew in her heart that she would not have killed him. She might have fought him off, or perhaps even injured him, but she would have never willingly delivered the final blow. That was a mindset that she felt okay with. It was true that she felt horribly guilty about something she had done and could not change, but it had just been a freak accident. Her kind heart was unblemished.  
  
"Should we…investigate ourselves? Go see what they are doing?"  
  
"I would advise against that…" Karizu said with a contemplative look.  
  
Roxy didn't know what they were talking about, but she kept her ears perked. They had seen her sitting up there, so she wasn't eavesdropping on them.  
  
"On the one paw, we do not have to give anything up…" Karizu spoke, "Yet, on the other paw, this feels like trouble. It makes me nervous."  
  
"What should we do?"  
  
Karizu sighed and rubbed his forehead. The two started walking off, but Roxy heard him say one last thing. "I had a feeling Tazoka was up to something…"  
  
Roxy gasped. Tazoka? That Excadrill that was the leader of the Earth Tribe? Now that she actually thought about it, she did realize that a full moon had passed, and yet the Earth Tribe had not returned. She, and the village as a whole it seemed, had not seen them since Tazoka had dropped by unexpectedly.  
  
But what did that mean? Tazoka had come by and arrogantly demanded food. Roxy actually flinched, as if he could have somehow heard her call him arrogant.   
  
Roxy had questions that she needed answers to. Karizu and that other Pikachu had walked off, and she didn't know where they had gone. Makari was off on patrol, and so that left only one option. She quickly got to her paws and began to swiftly, nimbly make her way down to the ground. She didn't slow down once as she moved.  
  
The intrepid young Pikachu made her way straight to the grove with the big grassy mound in the middle. The Wise Ones had said that she could always come to them with questions, though she hadn't actually needed to take them up on that offer thus far. Makari had always had the answers she'd needed.  
  
Roxy knew the way, so it wasn't long before she arrived. She entered the clearing and looked up at the mound. There was only a single Raichu sitting there, and Roxy inwardly winced. It was Natoka, and she had been hoping that Ozu would be here. She didn't personally have a problem with Natoka, but he could be rather gruff and impersonal.   
  
Suddenly she froze in her tracks. _Wait,_ she thought, _Am I supposed to be doing something? What's the protocol here? Am I supposed to bow, or announce myself, or…What had Makari done that first time? Ugh! I can't remember!!_  
  
"Roxy," Natoka called down from the mound, "What is it?" While somewhat direct, his question hadn't had any hints of annoyance or displeasure, so Roxy let out a quick sigh of relief.  
  
"I, uh…" she said, fumbling a bit with her words, "I just heard Karizu talking about the Earth Tribe…?"  
  
"Ah…" Natoka said, nodding his head in understanding, "I suppose word is spreading." To her mild surprise, he then stood up and walked down off of the mound. He continued forward until he was standing before her, forcing her to tilt her head back slightly to maintain eye contact.  
  
"Can you tell me what's going on?" she asked.  
  
Natoka sighed, though Roxy wasn't sure where his frustrations were lying. "The next full moon is in two days," he explained, "and the Earth Tribe have not shown up for their…'payment' yet. This has never happened before. They are hardly late and are usually, in fact, early."  
  
Roxy paused, but perhaps not for the right reason. The next full moon was only in two days? That meant…she had been in the forest for _more_ than two months at this point. Dear heavens, where had the time gone?  
  
Then she shook her head and put that thought out of her mind. "Well, uh… Is that really a bad thing? Maybe they just forgot, and you won't have to give up as much food?"  
  
"There is a difference between one Pokémon forgetting, and an entire tribe forgetting."  
  
"…Good point."   
  
"No," Natoka continued, "This is troubling news. We fear that they may be…planning something. But, all we can do at this point is be on our guard."  
  
Roxy paled a little. "D'you…um…th-think they're gonna attack us?"  
  
"Unfortunately, it seems logical. They are putting off their food collection in order to formulate a plan of attack…or to throw us off our guard."  
  
"But we- They…" Roxy muttered, feeling her fear begin to grow, "W-we gotta do something then! We…We can't let them attack us…! They- We-"  
  
"Do you not think that we are aware of this fact?"  
  
Roxy stifled a whimper. "Umm…" she murmured as she tried to think. The Earth Tribe planning to attack their village? Roxy had only seen three members of the tribe, and that was enough to make her scared of the whole lot. It had been hard enough to imagine Makari's stories of days past when there was no agreement in place.  
  
"Oh!" She suddenly had an idea. "What if you _took_ them some food? Y'know, they missed their food-getting-appointment, or whatever, so you can bring it to them?"  
  
Natoka paused, then turned and gave her a scrutinizing look. "Why would we do that…?"  
  
"Uh…" Roxy faltered a little under his gaze. "Y'know…t-to show them that the agreement is still there? Let them know that you want peace?"  
  
The Raichu continued to look at her.  
  
"I mean, I know you're not happy with the agreement thing, but it's better than being attacked, so, like…um…You bring them their 'payment' to say, like, 'Hey! We still wanna be in the agreement, and stuff!'"  
  
Natoka twisted his lips and gave her a hard look. "If they do not want their food, then we are going to keep it," he stated.  
  
"But…But that'll just make 'em angry!"  
  
"It was their choice not to come."  
  
Roxy deflated a little. "Natoka! If y'do that, then they're just _gonna_ attack either way! This way, y'know, we might avoid a fight!"  
  
"…"  
  
"We don't know what's going on over there, so….Just, uh…we bring them food…and show them…" She began to trail off, wilting under the stern gaze of the Raichu.  
  
"If only it were that simple," he said simply.  
  
Roxy blinked. "What…?"  
  
"Not everyone in this village is happy with this agreement," he explained, "If the Earth Tribe shows that they do not want their end of the deal, then it should remain with us and be given to those who have truly earned it. To just give up food, unwarranted, like that…it is a sign of weakness that our tribe will not accept."  
  
Now, Roxy was frowning. She glanced over her shoulder nervously, as if she could see the army of angry Ground-types marching through the woods in the distance. "…Isn't staying safe better?"  
  
Natoka sighed, beginning to sound frustrated. "Perhaps in _your_ world, it is."  
  
Roxy gazed down at the ground beneath her feet. "I just think…it's more important to see tomorrow and not today." She paused. "That was something my master used to say. When I was really young, I sometimes didn't think about the consequences of things…So, my master taught me-"  
  
She then jumped in surprise as Natoka suddenly placed his paw on her shoulder. She turned her head up to look him in the eye.  
  
"With respect," he said slowly, "Your 'master' comes from the same pampered world as you. She has not experienced the hardships that lie out here. Her teachings or beliefs or ideas have no place out here."  
  
Roxy just stared at him, jaw hanging open just slightly. She blinked once as she processed what the Raichu had just said. Even as he turned and started walking off, Roxy was still sitting there in disbelief. She didn't know whether to feel depressed or insulted. "Natoka-!" she called after him.  
  
However, they were both distracted by a nearby commotion. They both turned their heads to the left, towards where many voices could be heard shouting indistinctly. Beyond the trees, they could see many Pikachu sprinting quickly on all fours, all seemingly rushing towards the same place.  
  
Neither of them said as word as both turned and started running after them. At first Roxy was confused as to what was going on. Then a jolt of fear suddenly ran up her spine and nearly made her stop in her tracks. Was it the Earth Tribe? Were they attacking??  
  
A few rather speedy Pikachu ran past her, and she tried to hear what they were saying. Everyone sounded worried, but not as if they were in danger. Rather, they sounded more concerned about something. "What-?" she tried to ask a Pikachu that ran by far too quickly.  
  
"Where?" one shouted to his friend.  
  
"He is over this way! At the edge of the village!"  
  
What in the world was going on? It looked like _everybody_ in the whole village was running to the same spot. Villagers were still shouting. A frantic cacophony filled the air.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He is hurt! Hurry, he is hurt!"  
  
Now Roxy's fear was replaced by dread. Someone had gotten hurt? Everybody was obviously rushing to the aid of someone who had gotten injured somehow. With this many of the villagers congregating to the same spot, it had to be _bad_.  
  
But, who was hurt?  
  
Then, mixed in somewhere with all of the other shouting, she picked out one single exclamation. It shot through the air like a bullet directly to her ears, as if it knew how much it needed to be heard.   
  
"Come this way! Hurry! It is Makari!"  
  
A heavy, black dread filled her heart and nearly made her stumble over. She gasped, her breath feeling icy on her throat, as the whole world fell silent and time seemed to slow down. The blood in her veins had been replaced by snow. All she could hear was the loud thumping of her heart.  
  
 _…Makari?_  
  
Suddenly, Roxy was running faster than she had ever run in her whole life. Her paws were a blur as she raced, sprinting past Pikachu who had trained for speed their entire lives. She had no idea where she was going, but she just did her best to follow the general hubbub. Her breathing was heavy and her limbs ached from the stress, but she ignored all of it. All that mattered was running. All that mattered was getting to him.  
  
Finally, she arrived. A short while past where the huts stopped, there was a large crowd of Pokémon collected around a spot in the trees. She rushed straight up to it, relying on instincts she didn't even know she had to avoid the trees. When she reached the group of mostly Pikachu, she got up on her hind legs and started to push her way into the crowd. Roxy aggressively pushed others out of the way with no regard for any of them. Eventually, the crowd started to part and form a path, allowing her to get to the centre of the large circle they had all formed.  
  
Roxy stopped dead in her tracks, gasped loudly in shock, and cupped her paws to her mouth. Her little body trembled as she stared, horrified, at the Pokémon laying on the ground in the centre of the crowd.  
  
Makari was lying on his back. His eyes were closed and he took in very small breaths. Most of his fur had been dirtied and mussed up, as well as tainted light red by all of the blood. He was covered in scratches and gashes from head to toe, but those injuries were nothing compared to what her eyes were locked on. A bunch of large leaves had been placed on his lower torso, just next to his stomach, and they had been painted a deep red colour. There was a huge splatter of dried blood all around the area the leaves were covering up. Roxy realized the leaves were acting as bandages. She couldn't see what they were covering up but she didn't have to. She could just _tell_ how bad the wound was.  
  
"Makari…" she uttered in a breathless voice. She wanted to scream and cry out his name, but it was as if she had been robbed of her breath. She simply stood there for a moment, staring in horror at what had happened to the warrior.  
  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt her energy return. "Makari!" She darted forward and came to a stop seated next to his head. She reached down with her forepaws and gently gripped his chin, tilting his head so that he was facing her. "Makari…?"   
  
He didn't respond.  
  
A few tears fell down and stained his fur. "M-Makari…" she whimpered, "Wake up…!"  
  
"Someone get Miri!" someone in the crowd shouted.  
  
"She is coming!" someone else replied.  
  
Roxy gulped, feeling a fear well up in her that she had never felt before. Makari was breathing, but he wasn't responding and he was covered in so much of, what she assumed to be, his own blood. Glancing up a little, she saw a trail of blood on the ground, cutting through the crowd and leading off into the woods.  
  
"Makari, please…!" she pleaded.  
  
Then, Makari let out a groan. Roxy felt her heart swell with relief. He was waking up! That was a good sign, right? Makari stirred uncomfortably for a moment, his face twisting up in pain, and then he blearily opened his eyes a crack.  
  
"Makari?"  
  
His pupils seemed unfocused at first, but a moment later they found her. A small smile appeared on his lips. "…Roxy," he greeted her.  
  
For a moment, she just looked down at him. She wanted to smile at the fact that he was awake, but she couldn't. The situation was still bad. Pikachu and other villagers were saying and shouting things in the background, but she paid them no mind. All she knew was that Makari was here and he was hurt really, really badly.  
  
"I- Makari, wh…" she muttered, feeling herself tremble as she tried to fight off panic, "Are you okay?" She immediately kicked herself for saying that. Of _course_ he wasn't okay! What kind of question was that?  
  
"I have…been better…" he replied in a coarse voice, keeping that little smile.  
  
A commotion arose in the crowd and they parted once more. Roxy glanced up, and was immediately relieved to see that Miri had arrived. The Audino took one look at what had happened and instantly knelt down next to his 'bandaged' wound.  
  
"Miri!" she shouted in distress,  "Y-y'gotta help him! He's…!"  
  
Roxy then watched as Miri carefully peeled back the leaves to see what she was working with. Roxy found that she couldn't tear her eyes off of what the Audino was doing, but soon found herself regretting that fact. There was a huge, grisly gash in Makari's side. It looked like something had bitten him and ripped a bunch of flesh right out, which was probably not far from the truth. Even after the bandaging had stymied the blood flow, tons of the precious red liquid was still leaking out.  
  
Roxy fought the urge to gag, and watched as Miri quickly held both of her forepaws up, palms out and held directly above the wound. They began to shine with a peach-coloured glow, and a dim rainbow hue began to radiate around the wound. Miri closed her eyes in deep concentration as she let the Heal Pulse do its work.  
  
Finally, she tore her eyes away from the sickening sight and returned to looking him in the eye. "I-i-it's okay, Makari. Y-you're gonna be fine…Miri will fix you up, and you'll be fine. It'll be fine…" she rambled.  
  
Makari coughed and groaned, but continued smiling. "Roxy…" he croaked, "I am glad you are here…"  
  
Tears were streaming down her cheeks down as she looked down at the bloodied, beaten form of the Pikachu she cared so much about. This had been one of her worst fears, and now it was coming true. "M'kari…" she whimpered, sniffling a little, "W…What happened…?"  
  
Makari sighed regretfully. "Luck was…not on my side…" he replied.  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"I let my guard down…" he said shamefully, "and…and a predator…got me…"  
  
Roxy gasped, trying not to imagine the horrifying scene. It felt as if all of her fears were being validated all at once. She had always been so terrified of this dangerous place, and here was the proof why. Makari had suffered the dangers of the forest, and now he was laying here dy-  
  
 _No!_ she shouted to herself, _Don't think like that!_  
  
Her mind was running wild though. She was trying to keep it together, but anxiety, confusion and anguish were all battling it out in her head for supremacy. "Was it…" she whispered, "Did the Earth Tribe attack you?" She had only just heard about their mysterious behaviour moments ago. Could _this_ have been what they were planning? It was too horrible to think.  
  
"No," he replied with a subtle shake of his head, "It was not the Earth Tribe."  
  
She sniffled once more. "…It wasn't?"  
  
"No," he said once more. Then, before he could say anything else, he suddenly lurched and let out a cry of pain. His forepaws subconsciously reached for his injured midsection.  
  
"Makari!" she cried out in concern. His face was twisted up in agony, and she felt a fear in the pit of her stomach that chilled her very soul. This couldn't be happening…  
  
Roxy shot her gaze over to Miri, who looked like she was starting to sweat. "What's happening?" she demanded, "Is he gonna be okay??"  
  
"Ngh…" Miri grit her teeth. She kept the Heal Pulse going, but it looked like it was quickly wearing her out. "His injuries are severe…" was all she said. Thunder Clan villagers were running about in the background, trying their best to help out however they could, but all of them seemed to know that the ball was in Miri's court right now.  
  
"Where is Taka?" one of them shouted.  
  
"Find him!!"  
  
Roxy fought against her revulsion and looked back at the wound. It didn't look much better. Roxy didn't know much about Heal Pulse beyond what she had read in the encyclopaedia. It was working, wasn't it…?  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
She almost didn't hear him whisper her name. She turned back towards him and leaned down closer to his mouth so she could hear him. "Makari…Y-you're gonna be okay…"  
  
"Be brave…"  
  
Roxy grit her teeth and wiped away the tears with her paw. "I-I'm trying…" she whimpered.  
  
"Stay strong and do not be afraid."  
  
"…I…" Roxy looked down at him, tears dancing in her eyes and a sense of pain deep in her heart. Why was he talking like this? He was going to be fine. He was going to be just fine. Miri would heal him, and then he would be good as new.  
  
"……Makari, please…" she whispered.  
  
Makari closed his eyes and smiled softly. She could see a few tears in his eyes as well. "I am…so sorry, Roxy…"  
  
Roxy's breath caught in her throat. "N-no!"  
  
"Life just…is unfair sometimes…" He opened his eyes, still dancing and full of life, as if in defiance to the state of the rest of his body. "I…had to see you…one last time."  
  
"Please, Makari! Y-you can't…!" she babbled through her tears, reaching down with her paw to caress his dirty face. "Please don't go, Makari! I…don't….I can't… You _have_ to be okay, Makari! I know you can do it! You _have_ to!"  
  
Makari just smiled and said nothing.  
  
Roxy's frown grew larger as she began to tremble, overflowing with emotion. Tears ran down her cheeks like rivers now. "No!!" she suddenly shouted, "You can't go, Makari! You can't!!" Suddenly she whipped her head around, tears flying from her eyes, and glared at Miri. " _Do something!!_ " she exclaimed.  
  
Miri wasn't looking well, however. Sweat was pouring from her, dampening her fur, as the glow around her paws started to dim. She was panting as if she had just run a marathon. "I…" she tried to say.  
  
"You have to save him! You have to fix him!!" she shouted. When Miri didn't reply, Roxy sniffled and whimpered. "…Please?"  
  
"I am _trying_ Roxy!" Miri finally said, the glow dimming even more, "But I fear…his injuries are too great…"  
  
A look of horror crossed over Roxy.  
  
Miri, panting and exhausted, turned to look at her with a sad expression. "…We may be too late."  
  
Roxy was silent for a moment as that statement hit her like a ton of bricks, and then she suddenly dissolved into tears. She threw herself to the ground and wailed, wrapping her forelimbs around Makari's neck and hugging him as tightly as she dared. She wanted to scream and protest, but she simply couldn't through her tears.  
  
After a moment, a pair of weak paws hugged her back. "Shhh…" Makari soothed her, "Please do not cry."  
  
"Muh…Makari…" she wailed.  
  
His breathing was soft, his body felt cold, and her coat was already starting to get wet with his blood. She felt something in him that she had never felt before in all of the time she had known him; weakness.  
  
"I am sorry…" he whispered, "I wish this could have ended differently."  
  
"Makari, you can't leave me!!" she suddenly shouted, "I _need_ you!!"  
  
He winced in pain, but smiled and shook his head sadly. "I will always be there with you, even when you cannot see me. I know that you know that."  
  
"B-but…!"  
  
His breath briefly caught in his throat, and Roxy's panic suddenly spiked.   
  
"Makari!! I…This can't…I…" She whimpered, and then closed her eyes as more tears fell. "I don't know what to do without you…" she whispered.  
  
"Roxy…" he whispered back, "I always hated to see you cry…" He reached a weak paw up and softly caressed one of her cheeks. She felt the spark of his Static, something that had become warm and familiar to her at this point.  
  
She opened her eyes, red with tears, and gazed down at him as she sobbed. She turned to look at Miri, who was exhausted to the point of collapse. The glow was gone, and Makari's wound didn't look much better. Through her heavy panting and sweating, the Audino looked up at her and gave a soft shake of her head.  
  
Most of the other villagers were just watching solemnly now. It seemed like they had accepted fate as well.  
  
"Makari…" she said in a shaky voice, turning back to look at him, "Please…Y-you can't die…"  
  
His eyes were growing dim and faint, but still there was that smile on his face. "You…are much braver…and stronger…than you think you are…" he said, sounding like it was difficult to speak.  
  
Roxy's heart hurt and she wanted to bawl like a cub, but all she could manage were little sobs. It felt like her world was ending all over again. She had gone through anguish like this when she had first arrived in this forest, only this time was so much worse. It was all happening so fast. She wanted desperately for the universe to slow down, just to give her a few more minutes…  
  
Makari gently pulled her down towards him, and she leaned forwards until their noses were almost touching. Roxy could barely feel his breath against her fur, and it gave her a chill. After a moment of silence, the two wordlessly moved in for a kiss. Tears flowed from both of their eyes as they shared this moment. Roxy didn't want to admit the truth, but she did try to savour this as much as she could. She didn't want to let go. She didn't want to lose him. Some fantastic part of her mind told her that as long as she kept kissing him, he would stay alive.  
  
It was Makari who broke the kiss. Roxy held her eyes closed and panted for a minute, afraid to look. When she opened them, Makari was still there, but he looked impossibly weaker. The colour was starting to drain from him. At this point, even she believed that Miri wouldn't be able to do something.  
  
"Makari…" she whispered, "I…I…"  
  
There was a sudden commotion that drew her attention. She glanced up towards the sounds of Pokémon shouting, and caught a brief glimpse of Taka. He was roughly shoving aside members of the crowd, and stepped right up to her. Then, with one massive swing of his paw, he pushed her away from Makari and she went tumbling to the ground.  
  
"Oof!" She ended up sitting on her rump a few feet away, slightly dazed. After shaking her head, she looked back up.  
  
"Makari…" Taka was saying in a firm, deliberate tone, "Brother!"  
  
Makari coughed a few times weakly, then turned his slightly unfocused eyes on the Pikachu above him. "Taka…" he whispered fondly.  
  
"Makari," Taka said. Only his eyes were betraying any emotion, but even Roxy could see that he was just as distressed as she was, "Makari…What happened? Speak to me."  
  
"Ah…" Makari sighed, "I…I lost the battle that we face every day…"  
  
Taka growled, baring his teeth a little. "Who did this to you?" he asked pointedly, "Tell me."  
  
Makari shook his head with a groan. "A predator, Taka…It matters not."  
  
"Makari, be strong. Fight through this. You and I both know you are stronger than this."  
  
"Taka…"  
  
"Do not give in. Fight."  
  
Once more, Makari was smiling with tears streaming down his cheeks. "I am sorry, brother…" he said tenderly, "It is wonderful to see you."  
  
Taka stared down at him for a few silent moments, nothing more than a troubled look on his face. "It is…wonderful to see you as well," he finally said, "Now, stand up. Come on."  
  
When Makari just regarded him with that sad smile of his, Taka growled once more and immediately flung his head over in Miri's direction. " _Why are you not acting?!_ "  
  
Miri, however, was a few seconds away from passing out. She was reclining back, being supported by another Pikachu. "She did all that she could," the Pikachu spoke for her, "It was not enough."  
  
"Taka…Taka, please…" Makari whispered.  
  
Immediately, Taka returned his attention to his brother. "Yes, Makari. I am here."  
  
"Come closer…"  
  
Roxy had just been sitting there, staring dumbfounded at what was happening. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, which just left her frozen there like a rock. She quietly watched as Taka leaned his head down close to Makari's, and then Makari started to whisper something in his ear.  
  
At first he looked confused, but then his eyes slowly opened wider. When Makari stopped whispering, Taka was left for a moment just staring blankly into space. When he finally turned his gaze back down to his brother, Makari just smiled at him.  
  
Then Makari closed his eyes.  
  
Roxy's' heart skipped about three beats.   
  
She held a paw to her chest. _No…_  
  
Taka placed his paws onto Makari's shoulders and stared down at his brother. There was a look on his face she hadn't seen before. It looked as if his mask of stoicism had at last cracked.  
  
"Makari?"  
  
He gently shook Makari's shoulders, trying to jostle him awake. Makari didn't respond. She was a little far away to see, but Roxy thought that she could see Makari's chest. It had stopped moving.  
  
"Makari!!"  
  
Many of the villagers surrounding them were starting to bow their heads in sorrow. Roxy saw the three Raichu standing next to one another and looking quite distressed. Miri barely had her eyes open, but they were looking at the two siblings with a sad, forlorn look. Taka was shaking the body of his brother harder now, gritting his teeth and starting to breathe harder. There were no tears in his eyes, but Roxy had never seen him so distressed before since she had met him. She imagined he must've felt just like she did, as she sat there with a cold and painful horror filling her entire body, making it hard to breathe.  
  
" _Makari!!!_ "  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy couldn't believe it. She didn't want to accept it.   
  
He was gone.  
  
Just like that.  
  
She remembered the morning so clearly. She remembered waking up in his embrace, eating a tasty breakfast together, and taking time to talk with one another. Then, she hugged him, kissed him on the cheek, and waved goodbye as he went off on patrol.  
  
And now he was gone.  
  
Roxy had known him for more than two months, but she felt like she had lost a lifelong friend. She felt like she had lost a family member. No-one in her extended 'family' had ever died before. The worst she had experienced was the death of her master's grandmother, whom Roxy had never even met.  
  
Makari had been much more to her than just a close friend. He meant so much more to her than anyone else in the village. Makari had been there to pick her up when she had first fallen, and all of the times after that. If it hadn't been for him, Roxy would have given up a long time ago.  
  
Now, she sat on the cold ground, getting wet from the light drizzle, and leaning her head against Miri. The Audino was hugging her with one paw, but Roxy barely felt it. She was just staring ahead, quivering from more than the cold, and feeling way too many emotions at once.  
  
It felt like a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.  
  
Every part of her hurt, most especially her heart. There was this overwhelming need and desire for her to cry out into the night as loudly as she could, but for some reason she couldn't. Perhaps it was some foolish part of her mind, holding on to the possibility that he was okay somehow. Either way, she hadn't been able to cry since Makari had taken his last breath, and it _hurt_ inside.  
  
He was gone.  
  
He was… _gone_!  
  
She slowly glanced upwards. It was the early hours of the evening, and the last remnants of the sun's light were peeking through the tree branches. It cast the whole village in shadows and gave the place a very eerie atmosphere. Everywhere she looked, villagers were moving about with downcast expressions. It wasn't just her feeling the pain. Everyone had lost a special someone today.  
  
Roxy was sitting with Miri, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Roxy wasn't sure if it was called a 'funeral', but regardless it was a ceremony meant to mark the passage of death. Though she wanted to just hide away, curl into a little ball and go to sleep, Roxy knew that she needed to be here.  
  
She could already tell, though, that it was going to hurt.  
  
Miri wasn't saying anything, but was holding her tight and sharing her warmth. Roxy was very thankful for the Audino, who had barely left her side since it had happened. It was times like these that Roxy just needed a hug, and Miri was not hesitant to give them away. Others were moving about, sharing their grief, or setting things up, but Roxy didn't pay attention to any of them.  
  
After this, she was going to go to sleep and never wake up again.  
  
Right now, she just felt dead inside. She felt like an empty shell, held up only because she was leaning against Miri. What was she supposed to do now? How could she possibly handle this? Even beyond the catastrophe that was losing Makari, there were still tons of other anxieties gnawing away at her. She was once again thinking about the dangers of the forest, how much trouble she was in, the issues with the Earth tribe, how she could get home, and even her master's wellbeing. She pessimistically imagined that should she ever get over losing Makari, which at this point she doubted she would, then she would be nowhere near the end of her healing journey.  
  
Today had broken her.  
  
Time slipped by in a blur for her, and she was jolted out of her stupor when she realized that everyone was starting to gather. She glanced around and saw nearly everyone in the village enter the small glade and gather around a central point.  
  
Her heart dropped into her stomach. It was starting…  
  
Roxy timidly gazed to what was in the centre of the assembled crowd, having not been paying attention. It looked like they had set up the foundation for another, smaller, bonfire. There was a medium-sized pile of kindling surrounded by a ring of stones. Above it towered two large slabs of bark that were stuck into the ground like banners. Each one had intricate paintings on it, mimicking the marks on the villagers' bodies. Roxy had no idea what any of it meant.  
  
When she looked a little closer, she noticed something unusual. Sitting at the edge of the kindling was a bunch of green berries. They were sitting in a perfect circle around the kindling, nestled in between the branches securely. Roxy tried to figure out what they could possibly be for, but her mind drew a blank.  
  
Finally, she gazed around at the assembled villagers. It wasn't the _entire_ village. Obviously, some of them still needed to be out on patrol while this was taking place. However, there was a rather large turnout. Everyone had their heads held low, but no-one was crying. Though they all looked sad, some of them were still talking to one another. It seemed like everyone except for her was keeping their spirits strong.  
  
Roxy sniffled and shuffled herself a little closer to Miri, hugging against the Audino's fur. Her mind was in a strange place at the moment. She knew that she was at a funeral but, because it hadn't started yet, it wasn't something _real_ to her yet. In the pit of her stomach, she felt a distant growing dread on the horizon, but at the moment she found herself strangely calm.  
  
"Miri…?" she whispered, afraid that her own voice would startle her.  
  
"Yes, child?" Miri replied. There was clearly sadness in her voice, but she was not despondent.   
  
"Umm…" Roxy murmured, "Is it…always like this?" She extended her paw a little to point at the crowd and the setup.  
  
"It is not always this grand," she replied, "Sometimes families will set up their own, smaller pyre for a more…private ceremony."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
"However, for more notable members of the clan…"  
  
Roxy shivered upon hearing the reason that they were there.  
  
"It is a great honour…" Miri continued.  
  
"What's a 'pyre'?" Roxy asked.  
  
However, her question didn't get answered as everybody suddenly fell silent. They all turned their heads off to the side, and Roxy curiously followed their gazes. A group of Pikachu, plus one of the wise ones, was approaching. They were working together to carry something heavy.  
  
Roxy's heart leapt right into her throat.  
  
They were carrying _Makari_.  
  
She stared in anguish as his body was carefully carried towards the ceremony. All of the blood had been cleaned off, and his more devastating wounds had been dressed up with leaves, but that did little to hide the fact that it was the cold, dead body of Makari.  
  
She wanted to look away, but found she couldn't take her eyes off of the sight. A few tears ran down her cheeks, and she shivered and clutched herself closer to Miri. She watched as the small procession made its way towards the gathering. The 'pallbearers' all had their heads held low in mourning, and were all remaining silent.  
  
Roxy then noticed that someone was following behind them. A second later, she realized that it was Taka. He was holding a lit torch. He had a hardened look on his face that Roxy couldn't quite decipher. He was staring straight ahead with a neutral expression, walking with only a single purpose. She couldn't imagine how he was walking behind the body of his brother, and not bawling his eyes out.  
  
Everyone was remaining completely silent. Somewhat self-consciously, she noticed that the loudest sound seemed to be her sniffles. She tried her best to keep quiet, but it was really difficult with all of the painful emotions swimming around inside of her. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest.  
  
She still couldn't believe this had happened. 11 hours ago, Makari had been alive and well, and now she was staring through tear-filled eyes at his dead body. In a flash, he had been taken away, with barely a chance to say goodbye. Even now nobody seemed to be saying goodbye. As the group approached the pile of wood in the middle, the whole crowd was completely silent.  
  
Roxy watched them, a little curious as to what they were going to do. Then, she watched as they gently, respectfully, lifted Makari up and laid him down on top of the pile of kindling.  
  
Her eyes shot open wide and she stifled a gasp. She suddenly realized what this was.  
  
This was a _cremation_.  
  
As the 'pallbearers' respectfully stepped away, Taka moved to the front of the kindling pile. Two Pikachu on either side lifted up some very large leaves that they had gotten from who knew where, and gently draped both of them over Makari like a big blanket.   
  
"M…Miri…?" she whimpered.  
  
Then, before Roxy could even make a decision about whether or not she wanted to witness this, Taka bowed his head and lowered the torch to the kindling.  
  
Roxy squeaked as the fire quickly spread to the branches and leaves. It took a few seconds as the flames slowly consumed the small pile, but then they suddenly flared to life. In a bright swell, the fire rose up and consumed Makari's body entirely.  
  
Finally, Roxy clenched her eyes shut and turned away. She hid her face in Miri's fur, whimpering and trying to erase the horrible image from her mind. She couldn't stop herself from sobbing, even as the rest of the crowd seemed to remain silent. All she could hear was the crackling of the fire. The flames were taking Makari away from her forever. She would never again hear his voice, his laughter, his sage advice. She would never feel the tingle of his Static, the warmness of his hugs, or the gentle caress of his kiss.  
  
Roxy finally broke down and started to cry.  
  
Miri reached a paw around and hugged her tightly. Roxy just sat there sobbing, clenching pawfuls of Miri's fur and grimacing as if there were a poison making its way through her body. It hurt like being stabbed through the heart. She wanted all of the pain to come out, and crying just wasn't doing it fast enough.   
  
After a few painful minutes, she slowly lifted her head. Tears stained her fur and she knew that she probably looked like a mess. With blurred vision, she turned and looked back towards the burning fire. Nothing could be seen of the kindling or what had been laying upon it anymore. Now it was just a bright blaze. The fruit that had been sitting at the side had all burned up as well, and soon the fire itself would die out too.  
  
Roxy felt like she had finally been shoved forward to a new chapter in the story of life, and she could never go back. This was a chapter without Makari, and they would _all_ be chapters without him. She had grown so close to him and formed such a powerful bond in a relatively short time, but now that bond was ripped apart. There was a hole where he used to be, and she would never be able to fix it.  
  
She sniffled as she leaned her head weakly against Miri's side, feeling all of her life and energy just drain out of her.  
  
"I…" she whispered, "I…I never got to say…I loved him…"


	16. The Pain of Loss

Roxy found herself wandering despondently through the village. Her head held low and her tail dragging along the ground behind her, she walked without purpose or direction. She just felt completely aimless. Like a zombie Pokémon wandering the Earth, searching for something she couldn't remember.  
  
Her spirits were low, maybe lower than they had ever been before. Honestly, she was amazed she could even make herself walk. She didn't want to think about the past because of how upsetting it was, she didn't want to think about the future because of how terrifying it was, but she also didn't want to think about the present because it just hurt too much.   
  
So she wandered forward, as if in a daze, not caring where she ended up. Joyful memories filled her mind, tainted black with tar by the knowledge she would never be able to experience them again. That chapter of her life was over and gone forever, torn right out of the book, and she felt like she had barely started to read it.  
  
Roxy didn't know she could hurt this bad. She didn't know how anyone could hurt this bad and still go on.  
  
Hearing a rather loud, droning sound, she stopped and lifted her head slightly. She found that her wayward paws had taken her to the river, at the spot where she would bathe. The waters were running forward through the trees, just as they always had. Makari had been swept away from her by the river of life. He was there and then, in a flash, he was gone. The river's current was strong.  
  
The constant din of the river was a little bit soothing to her mind. Now that her world had been turned upside down and everything was chaos, it was nice to at least know that some things were still constant. No matter where she went, how long she was gone, or what she did, this river would still be here.  
  
Maybe she should jump in and see where it would take her? It was an utterly stupid idea, but she was so tired that her anxiety simply had no energy to fight back. Maybe it would take her to where it had taken Makari…  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the river for a few moments, but then one of her ears twitched. She realized that she could hear something else. Furrowing her brow a little, she strained to listen closer. It was the sound of someone else. Someone who was utterly exhausted and panting heavily.   
  
She opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings, trying to see who it was. It almost sounded like someone was in trouble, which made her a little nervous. At first she couldn't see anything. Then, however, she spotted movement in a bush across the river, a fair distance away. It rustled a bit, and then someone stumbled out of it.  
  
It was another Pikachu. By the looks of it, another member of the Thunder Clan. That was difficult to tell, though, considering that they were covered in dirt, mud and a fair bit of blood from numerous scratches and cuts. He definitely looked to be in bad shape, and collapsed down onto his paws in a panting fit.  
  
"H-hey!" Roxy called, "Are you all right?"  
  
The Pikachu groaned in distress, struggling to stand back up.   
  
Roxy glanced around in concern. She tried to decide if she should go and get someone. "Are you hurt? Do you need help?" she asked.  
  
She looked across the river as he put a paw on the ground and tried to force himself up. It looked like he had been through hell twice. When he finally hefted himself up into a kneeling position, he lifted his head and looked back at her.  
  
Roxy gasped in shock and cupped her paws to her mouth. Her breath then caught in her throat as she stared at those eyes of his. He was dishevelled and dirty, mangled and bloody, and almost completely unrecognizable. However, Roxy knew who the only one in the world was to have such sparkling eyes.  
  
"…Makari??" she sputtered in disbelief.  
  
"Roxy…!" he called out to her, stumbling on his hindpaws as he stood, "Thanks heavens I…Augh…"  
  
Roxy slowly shook her head and stared. This was impossible. This didn't make any sense. No matter how badly she wanted it to be true, she knew that logically it couldn't be.  
  
"Please, Roxy…Help me!"  
  
She sputtered to speak for a moment. "But…y-you can't be…" she said, tears in her eyes, "You're…d-dead…"  
  
He grunted in pain. "If I do not get back to the village, I _will_ be…"  
  
"But I…" Roxy felt like she was looking at a ghost, which may have actually been the case. There was a chilling sensation keeping her locked on the spot, staring across the river at this apparition with a mix of horror, sadness and longing, "I saw you…"  
  
"They…they captured me, Roxy! When no-one was looking, they snatched me! I barely escaped!"  
  
Roxy shook her head. She couldn't allow herself to believe something like this. It was just a product of her stress. "I…I was at your funeral! You…They put you on the fire, and-" She suddenly choked up. It was difficult for her to outline the reasons for her grief out loud.  
  
He was silent for a moment, and then shook his head. "I…Whoever that was, it was not me! I am here, Roxy, and I-" He suddenly lurched forwards in pain.  
  
Roxy caught herself half lunging forward, concerned that he would fall over and hurt himself.  
  
"Please…" he whimpered, "It hurts…"  
  
As he sat there, quivering in pain and still bleeding from some of his injuries, he locked eyes with her. For a few moments, Roxy was lost in his eyes. There was no-one on the planet who had eyes like those.  Deep hazel, with a certain shine to them. She could see them, and she could see _him_ there clear as day.   
  
"Makari…" she whispered. Did this make sense? Was this possible? Before long, Roxy realized that she didn't care. He was right there, across the river, and he needed her help. He was still alive and he was going to be okay! A wonderful, warm smile began to grow on her face.  
  
He saw that she was smiling, and smiled gratefully in return. "I love you…" he said.  
  
"I love you too…"  
  
There was a flash of black, and suddenly he was gone. Roxy blinked twice in bafflement, but then she heard his cry for help. It took her but a moment to find where he had gone.  
  
For the second time, she gasped in horror.   
  
A Weavile, slightly taller than him, had just zipped out of the bush and grabbed him. Now it was running and carrying him away into the woods. She heard a cry for help that quickly grew distant.  
  
" _Makari!!_ " she shouted. A second later, she leapt into the frigid river and swam as quickly as she could to the opposite side. She quickly scrambled up onto land, and then took off running. She ran on all fours as fast as her paws could take her. She focused all of her energy on dodging the trees and speeding herself up.  
  
A couple of minutes later, she had caught up with them. In the distance, past many trees but easily visible, she could see the Weavile still dashing away. It was carrying Makari under its forelimb, gripping onto him with its claw. Roxy could see drops of blood forming a trail towards them. She huffed through the exertion and pushed herself to speed up even more.  
  
The Weavile glanced back and saw her, then scowled and continued running.  
  
Trees whipped past Roxy in a blur as she tried to run even faster. Makari was in trouble and she had to catch him before it was too late. That was the only thing on her mind. Nothing else mattered!  
  
When the Weavile glanced back again, it growled. Roxy realized that she was slowly catching up. Weavile were pretty fast, but she was running on four legs and it was running on two, not to mention it was carrying Makari. Roxy could feel herself getting tired, and could feel her heart painfully pound in her chest, but she kept going. Just a little bit more and she could reach him!  
  
Then, suddenly, the Weavile skidded to a stop and whirled around to face her. "Stop!" it commanded with a male's voice. With one claw, he lifted Makari up by his ears, making the Pikachu cry out in pain. He then extended one claw on his other limb and pressed it right up against his throat.  
  
Roxy gasped and slammed on the brakes. She came to a stop just a few metres from the pair of them.  
  
She held her breath, her eyes locked on that sharp blade that was pushing against his neck, drawing a thin line of blood. With one little move, he could slit his throat and kill him. Roxy gulped and shivered. "P-please…" she whispered, "Let him go…"  
  
"Roxy…!" he spoke, his voice strained, "Run away! Save yourself!"  
  
"Please, just let him go. I'm begging you! I'll do _any_ thing!"  
  
The Weavile simply growled and started backing off slowly. Roxy made to take a step forwards, but he growled louder and pressed his claw tighter against Makari's neck. Roxy froze on the spot.  
  
"No…Please!"  
  
The Weavile simply kept slowly backing away.  
  
"Please don't take him…!"  
  
Makari was starting to look weak from his injuries and the loss of blood.  
  
"…Makari!"  
  
The Weavile got further away.  
  
"…Don't go…"  
  
When the Weavile stepped behind a tree and disappeared from sight briefly, Roxy felt a jolt to her systems. She was losing Makari! He was taking him! Without thinking, she quickly began to run off in the direction they had gone.  
  
The Weavile stepped around the other side of the tree, saw she was approaching, and promptly slashed Makari's throat.  
  
Roxy screamed in utter horror. " _No!!_ "  
  
There was a vile spray of blood, and Makari's body was unceremoniously dropped to the ground. The Weavile darted off into the forest, but Roxy didn't care about him. She ran as quickly as she could to Makari's side.  
  
Makari was twitching and convulsing, struggling to breathe but just making bubbling, gurgling sounds.  
  
"Makari! Makari, no! No, please!!" she shouted, "What do I do? What do I _do_?!"  
  
"Roxy…!"  
  
Tears ran down her cheeks as she tried to use her paws to somehow stop the blood from pouring out, but it was useless. All she accomplished was getting her paws soaked in red. "Makari, hold on!!"  
  
"Roxy!"  
  
She sniffled and sobbed. "I love you…I…I can't lose you!"  
  
She was surprised when his paw suddenly lifted up and grasped her by the shoulder. "Roxy…" he whispered in a strange voice.  
  
"P-p…please don't go…" she whimpered.  
  
"Roxy, you have to wake up."  
  
Her eyes became as wide as dinner plates.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy took a sharp intake of air as her eyes shot open. She squirmed around a little bit in panic.   
  
"Roxy…Hey, Roxy! Calm down…"  
  
She took in a deep breath and tried to figure out what was going on. The light was painful against her eyes and her heart was hammering away in her chest. Someone was holding her by the shoulders. "Wh…?" she breathed, still confused and disoriented.  
  
"Roxy, it is me…" the voice said. It was a female's voice. It wasn't Makari.  
  
The frightened little Pikachu blinked a few times to clear away her grogginess, and then looked around once more. Her surroundings were not quite as frightening as she had expected. She was in Makari's hut, the same place she had fallen asleep last night, and sitting next to her was Miri.  
  
"Are you okay now?" Miri asked her in a calm voice, "Are you awake?"  
  
Roxy sat there for a moment in stillness, blinked once, and then started crying. The reality hit her that what she had just seen had been a very vivid dream. Now that it was gone, she found herself overburdened with too many emotions to count.  
  
Miri didn't say anything after that. She simply reached forwards and gave Roxy a warm hug. Roxy hugged back and laid her head on Miri's shoulder, bawling like a cub. She didn't even try to talk. She just had a powerful urge to cry that didn't seem to ever go away. Every sob hurt. Every tear stung. She felt weaker and smaller than ever before in her whole life, and she wanted nothing more than for the hurt to stop.  
  
These tears had been building up since Makari's last breath. A whole day and night's worth of grief was coming out, now that all of her defences had finally been brought down by that dream. It had started out absolutely wonderful, seeing Makari alive again, and then turned horrible. She felt like she was crying over the dead body of dream-Makari, dealing with the grief that the dream hadn't been real and he hadn't actually still been alive.  
  
Roxy didn't stop crying until she simply couldn't anymore. She had no idea how long it had taken, but eventually her cries dwindled to pathetic little sobs and hiccups. Finally, after an eternity had passed, there was nothing left to come out. She just rested there in Miri's embrace, feeling empty.  
  
"Sorry…"  
  
Despite the dour mood they were both in, Miri managed to let out a soft chuckle. "Roxy…you apologize for the strangest things sometimes."  
  
"Mnn…"  
  
Miri shifted back from the hug so that Roxy was sitting in her lap and looking up at her. The Audino wore a sad, understanding look. "Did that make you feel better?" she asked knowingly.  
  
Roxy sniffled and then nodded. "Uh huh…"  
  
"Yesterday was….rough. To say the least."  
  
Roxy just lazily gazed off to the side. She felt quite relieved after such a long cry, and didn't feel quite as bad, but she could still feel a painful sadness planted in depths of her heart, ready to grow and tangle itself around her again when it was ready. Her body felt heavy and her muscles felt useless. If given the choice, she wanted to just lay down and sleep until the pain went away.  
  
"He's really gone…isn't he?" she spoke softly, her voice sounding empty and dead.  
  
Miri let out a heavy sigh, and then replied, "It is tragic, but true…"  
  
"I don't wanna believe it…"  
  
Sighing again, Miri simply patted her on the back.  
  
Just thinking about him made her want to cry more, but she was all cried out. She knew that she would probably be bawling again before the end of the day, but right now she was caught in a strange calm moment. It was like passing through a storm and reaching the eye in the centre.  
  
Roxy groaned, feeling weak, and flopped to the side so that she was leaning against Miri's chest. She found herself staring out the open door of Makari's hut into the village beyond, which seemed less vibrant than before. Just one night before, out there was where they had…  
  
"Why did you…?" Roxy started to ask.  
  
"Hm?" Miri asked once she had trailed off.  
  
Roxy bit her lip. The words hurt her, and so she rearranged them and asked the question again. "Why was he…cremated?" She didn't want to think about the funeral, or anything to do with his death, but it was all she _could_ think about. With her tears and sadness at bay, her curiosity couldn't help but shine through for a moment.  
  
"Fallen warriors have always been cremated," Miri replied in a soft tone, "Not only is it safer considering where we live and who our neighbours are, but some of us believe that burning the body helps the spirit to be set free."  
  
"What do you mean…?"  
  
"We all have a spirit inside of us…It is what makes us who we are. When we die, our bodies cannot be used any longer, but our spirit shall remain for eternity. Burning the body helps to sever all ties and allow the spirit to fly freely into the skies, away to better places beyond our world."  
  
Roxy was silent as she pondered this.  
  
"We see the smoke and the ashes rise up into the skies, and we like to believe our fallen brethren's spirit is with it. Some say the bonfires at the marking ceremonies are a way to call back the spirits, who join us for one evening of fun before departing once more."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy was quiet for a few more moments, still staring listlessly out the door. Truth be told, talking about this sort of stuff was helping to get her mind off of things, without _really_ getting her mind off of things. "Everyone was so quiet…"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Nobody said anything…" When Miri continued to not respond, Roxy clarified. "Where I come from, people give speeches at funerals and, like, talk about their life and stuff…"  
  
"Oh, I see…" she replied, "Well, in our clan, the lighting of the pyre is a time of respect and reflection. The fallen have already lived their life, and the hope is that their life was impactful enough to speak for itself without anyone's help."  
  
Roxy nodded softly, and then fell silent. Many minutes passed as Roxy just sat there, still as a ghost, staring off into space. As time wore on, she felt the desire to cry returning. With nothing to do and nothing to occupy her mind, all she could think about was Makari. He was in all of her thoughts, even in ones he didn't belong in.   
  
"What were the berries for?" she asked. Roxy figured that learning new things was as good a way as any to keep herself from crying.  
  
"The berries in the pyre?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "Yeah…"  
  
"Those were Aguav Berries," she explained, "Aguav Berries have a very strong scent, but the scent is very similar to the scent of the trees. We burn them so that their scent covers up the scent of the pyre. Any _other_ Pokémon nearby would just smell more trees."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy blinked, and then realized the reasoning behind that logic. She frowned. "Ohh…"  
  
"We are thankful that Aguav Berries are not very tasty."  
  
"Mm…" Roxy murmured quietly, almost silently.  
  
"Some of our best foragers are assigned to find Aguav Berries. They are plentiful, but sometimes difficult to get off of the bushes."  
  
Roxy abruptly let out a sound that was like a cross between a hiccup and a sob. It had come out of nowhere, and soon after she started to feel tears burning behind her eyes once more. Suddenly, her mind started to loudly remind her that Makari was _dead_ and she was never going to see him again.  
  
"Roxy…?" Miri spoke in concern.  
  
"I can't believe he's gone…" she whined, sniffling as her vision became blurry.  
  
"I know, Roxy…I know," Miri said with a pat on her back.  
  
"I miss him so much…I-it hurts…"  
  
"I miss him too, Roxy," Miri said, "He was a very close friend of mine. I have known him since he was very young, and he was always so kind and pleasant to me. It hurts me as well to have him taken away from us."  
  
"I loved him…" Roxy murmured, "and…and I needed him…He was the only reason I didn't just give up and let the wilderness take me…"  
  
"Oh, Roxy…Please do not cry. You are going to make me cry as well…"  
  
Roxy sniffled and turned to look at Miri. There were a few small tears in the Audino's eyes, but she was trying her best to keep herself together. Truly, Roxy wanted nothing more than to cry forever and mourn Makari's death, but she remembered that it wasn't all about her. She wasn't the only one who was hurting.   
  
So instead of breaking down and crying again, she shifted around in Miri's lap and leaned in to give her a big hug. Miri didn't hesitate to hug back.  
  
"He was a brave warrior, Roxy, and our clan will never forget him."  
  
"I just…don't know what to do now…What'm I s'posed to do?"  
  
"No-one expects you to do anything right now, Roxy. Give it some time. Think back on all of the pleasant memories you shared with him and remember that he enjoyed life. He always seemed to have a smile on his face."  
  
"I…" Roxy shivered a little. "I never got to say…"  
  
"He knew, Roxy," Miri interrupted, "I am certain. He knew."  
  
She buried her face into Miri's fur. "Miri…I'm scared."  
  
"I know you are, sweetie. I know…"  
  
Roxy tried her best to fight off the tears, but it was very difficult. She felt lost now. Makari hadn't just been a close friend and someone she had developed feelings for. He had also been her guide, her protector, and her rock. When things seemed their darkest in this horrible situation she was trapped in, Makari had always been there to bring her back to the light. Over the months no progress had been made towards getting her home, but she had always felt that one day Makari would be able to show her the way.  
  
In a way, it felt like her escape rope had been cut off. She felt more trapped in this forest than ever before. He would no longer be there to comfort her, dry her tears, and keep her from panicking in this dangerous area.   
  
Even since the very beginning, Makari had calmed her down. Insisting on bringing her back to the village where it was safe had only been the first in Makari's endless line of selfless acts. Roxy couldn't tell if it was just because he liked her too, or if he treated everybody like that, but Makari had done way more for her than anyone would have expected of him.  
  
Losing the one she had such affection for was heart-wrenching enough, but the fact was that Makari was even more than just that. In just a few short months, he had become her 'everything'. Now he was gone, and she felt like she had nothing. Nothing to keep her sane and, worse, nothing to keep her _safe_.  
  
Miri started to get up, jostling Roxy back to awareness. "Come on," she said softly.  
  
"Huh?" Roxy asked as she was gently deposited on the ground.  
  
The Audino reached into the leaf pouch she had around her shoulder and fished out some Oran Berries. "Have something to eat."  
  
Roxy frowned and glanced away. "I'm not hungry…" she mumbled.  
  
"I do not doubt it," Miri said, putting just a hint of authority into her voice, "but eat something anyway. It will make you feel better, I promise."  
  
She hesitated a bit, and then reluctantly took one of the Orans. It didn't go down very well. Roxy had felt sick ever since the ghastly incident, and her stomach threatened to send the food right back up. However, she managed to keep it down.  
  
"Thank you…" Roxy whispered.  
  
"I know you will not feel like eating, but you still should. It is important after all." Miri finished off her own Oran, and then sat down next to her. "Do your best not to let this defeat you, Roxy. You do not have to do it right away, but eventually you must pick yourself back up and continue towards your goals."  
  
"My goals are impossible now…"  
  
"Nothing is impossible, Roxy."  
  
Roxy turned her head and glanced up at the Audino, who gave her a sad but warm smile in return.  
  
Then, Roxy scowled. "Aren't you upset?" she spat suddenly, "Don't you _care_? Makari was…he was…a-and he's _gone_ now…!"  
  
Miri frowned. "Roxy-"  
  
"Stop smiling like everything's okay!"  
  
"I am not-"  
  
"Someone…" Roxy clenched her paws tightly. "S-someone just got _murdered_! This is so horrible! How can you smile like that?!"  
  
Roxy held her eyes shut as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She quivered, feeling a mix of rage and anguish.   
  
"Roxy…" Miri spoke in a soft voice, "I _do_ care. However, remember, I have lived here for many years in this forest. Death is common."  
  
The troubled Pikachu stiffened a little.  
  
"Makari's death was tragic, but his was not the first, and it will not be the last. I have seen many brethren perish, some of them very close friends to me. Some of them…more than friends…" Miri was silent for a moment. "Each one is as painful as the last, but…I have learned how to get past the sorrow. To smile is important, even at the smallest things. The pain is still there, but a smile can help drive the dark clouds away."  
  
Roxy sniffled, trying to keep herself from bawling again.  
  
"I do miss him, Roxy. I shall miss him every day, and I am sure you will as well. None of us will be able to forget him."  
  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you…" Roxy mumbled.  
  
"Aww…" Miri lifted her into another quick hug. "I forgive you, Roxy. These are difficult times for you."  
  
Roxy let out a heavy sigh, feeling that same emptiness inside. She tried her best to think positive, tried to think of something to smile about, but the only thing she knew she could look forward to was more crying. It was impossible for her to see anything but sadness on the horizon, and that notion only made her feel more depressed.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Miri had needed to leave eventually. She had tried to convince Roxy to go outside, get some exercise, and take a breath of fresh air, but she hadn't been successful. In the end, Roxy couldn't bring herself to do more than just lay there. At the very least, she promised Miri that she would eat something later.  
  
The day passed by in a haze, and Roxy honestly spent almost every minute lying limply on her side, blankly staring out at nothing. She was empty. Completely out of fuel. She had no motivation, no drive, and no energy.  
  
Makari had been with her every day she had been in this forest except for the first one. He had become such an integral and constant part to her adventure, and he had always seemed like an important part of the key to her escape. Roxy had no idea what exactly that might have entailed, but now it felt like that key had been shattered.  
  
She was utterly terrified, and now she felt more alone than ever. She felt trapped, lost in a deep pit of despair and danger. In some ways, it felt like she was already dying and there was just a silent countdown until the moment that the dangers of the forest finally claimed her.  
  
She had barely managed to survive with his help. Without him, what chance did she have?  
  
At some point, one of the wise ones had come to visit her. Honestly, afterwards, she didn't even remember which one it had been.  
  
They told her that she could stay in Makari's hut. They said something about discussing it and believing that Makari would have wanted it, but she barely responded beyond a tiny nod. They too had tried to encourage her to get up and go outside, but she couldn't be moved. She just laid there like a lump on the ground.  
  
Eventually, Miri returned to keep her company. Then, eventually, she left. Roxy didn't blame her. Everyone had busy lives and important things to do in this village, after all.   
  
She didn't know how many times she had broken down and cried as the hours of the day had gone past. The whole day was a messy blur to her. All she could remember was sadness and heartbreak. She wondered if she would ever have the strength to get up and move on, and began to doubt herself. She started to ponder dangerous questions, such as if there was anything she could have done to prevent this. Her mind was constantly agitated, but her body was just still.  
  
She just felt so empty now.  
  
The sun started to set. Miri had left the leaves parted, offering her a glance at the outside. The light was fading, causing her view of the village to slowly diminish and turn to darkened silhouettes. As the night grew closer, Roxy began to feel a sort of dread creep over her. What little stability she had started to crumble away. The darkness just seemed to bring out all of her negative emotions and magnify them.  
  
She gasped quietly in surprise when she heard movement right outside of the doorway. Her heart thumped for a moment before they stepped in front of the door, revealing the silhouette of a Pikachu. Roxy immediately calmed down. She squinted through the darkness and tried to see who it was.  
  
It was Taka. He was standing still in the doorway, looking right at her. It looked like he had paused in mid-step, and looked surprised to see her there.  
  
The two stared at each other quietly. After a while, Roxy started to feel a sense of empathy forming. She tried to imagine just what Taka was going through. After all, he was Makari's brother. He must have been feeling loss just as much as she was.  
  
"Taka…" she breathed, almost too soft for him to hear.  
  
He continued to just stand there and stare at her. It was hard to see his expression in the waning light, but it seemed like a hard look that he was giving her. He wore a frown, but then again he always wore a frown. Roxy wanted to sit up and ask him what was wrong, but she just didn't have the energy nor the motivation.  
  
Then, Taka suddenly scowled and growled, so softly that Roxy barely caught it, and promptly turned and walked away.  
  
Roxy felt herself deflate even more as a painful sigh slipped past her lips.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The next morning arrived with Roxy once again waking up from a nightmare. After she stopped quivering and got her breathing under control, she realized that she had slept in for quite a few hours, and yet somehow didn't feel rested at all. She didn't want to move at all and just wanted to go back to sleep, but she forced herself to get up and eat one of the berries Miri had left her.  
  
An hour or so later, the Audino herself stopped by once again. "Roxy," she greeted with a gentle smile, "How are you feeling?"  
  
Roxy just glanced up from where she was sitting, half slumped forward, and gave a nonverbal response.  
  
"Have you eaten breakfast?"  
  
Roxy nodded.  
  
"Good. That is good." Miri slowly stepped inside, standing awkwardly nearby for a moment before continuing. "I, uh… I have something to tell you. The wise ones have been discussing your…situation."  
  
The lethargic Pikachu slowly rolled over onto her side and looked up at Miri, but still didn't say anything.  
  
"With everything that has happened, it has become clear to them that you are not a fighter. It is simply not who you are…"  
  
Roxy glanced away in shame for a moment.  
  
"Yet, neither they nor anyone else in the village is callous enough to want to cast you out…So this is what they have decided…You may continue to stay in this village and be a part of this tribe, and you will no longer need to learn how to fight or leave the village for patrol or foraging duties."  
  
"…Really?" Roxy whispered. Her voice sounded scratchy.  
  
Miri nodded. "There is a downside, however…" she said with a frown, "Since you will not be able to contribute to the tribe, you will be given smaller rations of food to eat." After a pause, she added, "I am sorry, Roxy…Extra mouths to feed do make things difficult."  
  
Roxy glanced away for a moment and considered this. Then, she looked back up at Miri and shrugged. "That's fair," she said simply, "I don't mind, really. I'm just more relieved to hear that I don't have to…do all of that stuff."  
  
"Oh! Well…That is good to hear," Miri said, seeming a little surprised by her reaction.  
  
Roxy just nodded tiredly and rolled over again, curling up into a furry little ball. "It's fine," she said sincerely, but wearily. Roxy wasn't bothered by the thought of getting less food. Honestly, she had thought that Makari had been treating her to too much food sometimes. As long as she had enough to live, well, she would survive. All she could think about was how great it was not to have that looming sense of responsibility to the tribe.  
  
What was that they said about silver linings?  
  
A long uncomfortable silence passed, though Roxy never heard Miri leave. Roxy was just resting her head and dealing with the sick feeling in her stomach. She didn't feel strong enough to do anything beyond eating dinner later, and that was just fine with her. It was just too hard to deal with sadness like this.  
  
"Is there anything I can do?"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up at the sound of Miri's voice, but nothing else on her body moved.  
  
"Anything at all? Do you want to talk? Is there something I can bring you…?"  
  
She could hear the concern in Miri's voice, and that only added another painful needle to her heart. Feeling the lowest that she had ever felt was one thing, but it was another thing altogether to bring down others with her. But, what could she say? _Could_ Miri do anything for her? There was only one thing Roxy wanted, and she was pretty sure that Miri couldn't raise the dead.  
  
"I hate to see you like this, Roxy…I know it hurts…"  
  
Roxy sighed. Miri was such a kind soul. She had the perfect bedside manner. Unfortunately, Roxy felt like her wound was simply too deep.  
  
She heard pawsteps as Miri began to leave. "Just let me know…" she said, "If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask…"  
  
A few seconds passed, and Miri was nearly out the door. "Miri?"  
  
The pawsteps stopped. "Yes?"  
  
Roxy slowly, achingly, rolled over until she was sitting up. She could feel the gravity of depression trying to drag her back down to the ground, but she fought it so she could look up at Miri. The Audino had a small look of relief on her face.  
  
"…Have you seen Taka?"  
  
Miri stood there for a moment, and then frowned and shook her head. "I have not…"  
  
"No?"  
  
"No-one has seen him. No-one knows where he has gone to."  
  
Roxy glanced away for a moment, frowning as she considered this. Had she actually seen him last night, or had that been a dream? She wasn't quite sure.  
  
"Taka has been known to wander off for days at a time, though," Miri added, "Usually this frustrates the wise ones quite a bit, but in this case it is understandable."  
  
"…He must be really torn apart…" Roxy murmured.  
  
Miri sighed. "Who can say? Taka has always been a loner. He never knew his parents, never made any close friends…Makari was the only one he really trusted."  
  
Roxy felt a stab through her heart upon hearing Makari's name, a trend that she was sure would continue for quite a while.  
  
"If he is gone for much longer, we will go out and search for him…but for now, I think he just wants time alone."  
  
Roxy hung her head and nodded softly. "Y-yeah…I get that…"  
  
Miri stuck around for another couple of minutes, then said goodbye and left. Roxy sighed heavily once she was alone again. Yesterday was such a depression-filled haze that she really couldn't remember if Taka had actually been there or not.   
  
Roxy couldn't imagine losing a brother; she had never had one. She could only imagine, though, that it was hurting Taka just as much as it was hurting her. Sure the reasons were a bit different, but they had both lost someone they loved dearly. Ironically, it was probably the first thing that they had in common.  
  
What if it really had been him last night? He had come to this hut, which Roxy belatedly remembered used to be Makari's. Maybe he had wanted to spend some time reminiscing in his brother's home, and hadn't expected to find her there.  
  
With a whine of distress, Roxy began to wonder if she had indirectly made him even more upset.  
  
Roxy sighed once more and closed her eyes, feeling the tears starting to come yet again. Already she was sick of crying, but she felt like it would just keep happening over and over. The pain and the longing never seemed to get any better. Makari had taken a place in her heart, and a piece of her heart had gone with him when he had been taken away.   
  
It truly felt like the wound would never heal.


	17. What Makes You Special?

It took three days for Roxy to get up and leave the hut for more than a couple of minutes.  
  
She had spent that time lying uselessly in Makari's old hut, without the strength or energy to do anything. She spent every minute thinking about Makari, and every thought left her with a heavy pain in her heart. Miri stopped by twice a day to see how she was doing and to talk to her, and a few other villagers visited to give their condolences.  
  
Finally, though, she was up on her paws and stepping through the doorway into the chilly winter air. Roxy had heard that time healed all wounds. She wasn't sure if that was completely true, because she still felt completely awful, but she did feel a _little_ better.   
  
Perhaps it was the thought that Makari was somewhere watching her, which was a thought that she had often. She realized how pathetic and sad she must have looked if he was indeed watching her. Roxy had no solid beliefs about life after death, but since Makari had died she had started to hope that there was some form of afterlife that would keep his spirit alive somehow.  
  
The words of Miri and the others were starting to ring true. 'Makari would have wanted…' they would all say.   
  
When she had woken up this morning, Roxy had taken a good look inside of herself. The pain, the depression, and that feeling of emptiness were all still there. They hurt just as badly. She was sure there would still be moments when she would unexpectedly feel like bursting into tears.  
  
However, she also reflected upon what she had gone through. Roxy's stay in the village had been quite tumultuous, but she looked back on how her training had gone. In the time before she had gone on that fateful foraging trip, she had learned how to push herself to do things she didn't want to do. Roxy had wondered if she still had that strength somewhere inside.  
  
Perhaps she did, since she was standing outside of Makari's hut. A part of her did want to just crawl back inside and hide again, but she couldn't deny that the fresh air was a relief. It was bitterly cold, but the smells of the forest were still there and they reminded her that this place, while utterly dangerous, was still a place of beauty.   
  
Roxy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She felt turbulent all over, like one wrong move would shatter her entire being like glass. She knew, though, that this was something she had to do. No matter how hard it would be, she didn't want to just lie in the hut every day for the rest of her life.  
  
This is what Makari would have wanted. She was knocked down, and he would have wanted her to get back up.  
  
Roxy started to take a slow walk around the village. There weren't many villagers around at the moment. Roxy figured they were mostly inside, or out on patrol. Still, though, she kept her head low and didn't look anyone in the eye. It wasn't that she wanted to be antisocial, but she didn't quite feel ready to strike up casual conversations. She promised herself that that step would come later.  
  
Thankfully, the other Pokémon seemed to sense this and respect her wishes. A lot of them waved to her and called out a 'hello', which she returned with a polite nod, but none of them pressed her for more interaction.   
  
She walked around the village in as wide of a circle as she dared, taking care not to stray too close to the village edge. She had to admit that it felt nice to get out and walk. The air, though very chilly, was quite calming and relaxing. She felt like her thoughts didn't wander to dark places as much now that she was up and moving. Eventually, she had circled back around to where she had started, at Makari's hut.  
  
There, Roxy paused and sighed. She couldn't lie. The village of the Thunder Clan was different without him. The whole tribe had lost something valuable when his life had been taken away. It, like many other things, would never be the same again.  
  
This was a big change to her life. Roxy had already dealt with a huge change, when she had first found herself here. Things had gotten a lot better since her first few nights here. Roxy could only hope that the same would happen again.  
  
But then, she felt bad for thinking that. To her addled mind, it sounded like she wanted to try and forget about him. Roxy shook her head and tried to tell herself that it wasn't true, but her mind was in a very pessimistic place. She was still so mixed up emotionally. She wanted to remember Makari forever and never forget about him, but did that mean suffering forever from the pain of losing him?  
  
Roxy eventually found her paws taking her to a different place. She entered the clearing in a quiet and respectful way, and waited off to the side until the three Raichu noticed her. She tried not to eavesdrop, but it sounded like they were talking about something that had them concerned.  
  
"Hm?" Natoka grunted as he turned his head and noticed her.  
  
"It is Roxy!" Karizu proclaimed, "Hello, young one. It is so nice to see you."  
  
She took a few more steps into the clearing, standing at the base of the large mound. "Hello," she said, rather quietly but still loud enough for them to hear.  
  
"Greetings, Roxy," Ozu spoke, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I'm okay. Thanks for asking," she said, telling a white lie.  
  
"We must admit that we were worried about you," Karizu said to her, "but it is good to see you out of the hut."  
  
Roxy nodded. "I, uh…I just wanted to thank you. Y'know, for the…um…your consideration about me and the food and…stuff…" She trailed off and started scuffing the ground with her hind paw.  
  
"Ah yes, well…" Karizu's expression changed into a sad smile, as did Ozu's. Natoka didn't seem like he was paying attention.  
  
"Yours is definitely a highly unusual case," Ozu said, "We at first felt that we had to try and have you conform to our standards, and we tried to help you along the way, but it seems that is not to be the case."  
  
"We are very sorry that we have to limit your food," Karizu said, sincere apology in his tone, "It is just that-"  
  
"No, no, no," Roxy said, waving her forepaws in the air, "It's fine. Really, I'm being honest. I'll survive. I'm just glad I don't have to…you know…" She trailed off again and suddenly decided that the ground was very interesting to look at. Thinking about going on patrol had made her remember the reason _why_ Makari had been killed. She shivered a little and tried to steel herself against the tears that threatened to fall.  
  
"Are you sure you are okay?" Ozu asked.  
  
It took her at least half a minute before she finally squeaked out, "…No."  
  
She clenched her eyes shut as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. There was quite a long period of uncomfortable silence before someone finally spoke up.  
  
"Would you like to come up and sit with us?"  
  
Roxy sniffled, wiped some of the tears away with her paw, and looked up at the Raichu. "Huh…?"  
  
Karizu smiled and patted a spot next to where he was sitting. Ozu also had an inviting look on his face, though Natoka still seemed disinterested. Was he pointedly looking away?  
  
"Are you…Really?" she murmured.  
  
"Why not?" Ozu asked.  
  
Roxy blinked, and then she couldn't help but chuckle a little. Even after all this time, she still forgot that the wise ones were not to be treated like 'royalty'. They were rulers just because they were the strongest and smartest. There wasn't much pomp and circumstance required when in their presence.  
  
She nodded in thanks and then clambered her way up onto the mound. She sat down between Karizu and Ozu, sighing and wiping away a few more tears. "I'm sorry…" she muttered, though she tried her best to smile, "I'm just a mess…"  
  
"That is understandable, young one."  
  
"I'm trying…I'm trying so damn hard…"  
  
Ozu patted her on the back. "We know you are."  
  
"I want to be strong…to move on and…do all of the things that he thought I could do." A stray tear ran down her cheek. "But sometimes it feels like I'll never feel better."  
  
"Well," Karizu said, "in a way, there will be a wound in you that will never fully heal. That is what happens when we lose the ones we love…" When Roxy looked up at him, he continued. "Miri has told us that this is…your first experience with death?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Then this wound may be especially deep…"  
  
"But," Ozu politely cut in, "tell me, Roxy…What happens to a deep wound if it does not kill you?"  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow and considered the grisly question. "It, uh…heals?" Ozu nodded, but continued to look at her as if he was expecting more of an answer, so she gave it a bit more thought. "The wound, um…it closes up. The body fixes itself."  
  
Ozu nodded sagely. "But what is left behind?"  
  
She was silent for a moment, before she whispered her answer. "A scar…"  
  
He nodded once more. "That scar shall always be there. You will always notice it, and it will always sting a little bit…but it can also serve as a reminder. An immortalization. Warriors wear their scars with pride. It shows others that they went through tough times, but were strong enough to come out on top."  
  
Roxy brought up a paw and held it to her chest. It felt like there was real scar on her chest, hovering on the edge of existence like a phantom.   
  
"Makari's death has wounded us all," Karizu said calmly, "Some of us…much more than others. But the wounds will heal and we will all be left with scars. That, young one, is one way that he will never be forgotten."  
  
Roxy glanced up at the two Raichu, a small frown on her face. That was what she had been worried about; forgetting Makari. If what they said was true, then she would always have a 'scar' to remember him by. Roxy didn't have any actual scars on her body, so she didn't quite know what it felt like to live with one.  
  
"That's…That kind of helps…" she said after a moment.   
  
"It is a belief that our whole tribe shares," Karizu said, "Death is never easy. It is finding ways to fight back against the sadness and despair that will make things better."  
  
Roxy closed her eyes for a moment and imagined herself standing there with a huge scar across her chest. In her mind's eye, she reached up and gingerly touched the scar. Then, he was there. She could picture him so clearly. His warm smile, his calming eyes, and that sense of quiet optimism that he always seemed to radiate.  
  
When she opened her eyes, she gazed up at the two Raichu again and then sighed. Ozu reached over and patted her back once more. "It will get better."  
  
"I know…" she said sincerely.  
  
Looking up at them, she could see that they were both sad as well. They were clearly much better at dealing with it, but neither of them were moving on as if Makari had never existed. They were being so nice to her, and she was so thankful for that. She stole a glance over at Natoka, who had his back to the three of them. He didn't seem upset, rather he just seemed like he didn't want to be a part of the conversation. He had always been a bit distant and antisocial, so Roxy didn't take offense to it. She had Ozu and Karizu to make her feel better.  
  
"Thanks for this…" she said.  
  
"You are not alone, Roxy," Ozu said, "Remember that. You are a part of this clan now. We care about you, just as you clearly care about us. If you ever need something, even just a shoulder to cry on, remember that you are not alone."  
  
Roxy smiled tiredly and nodded. Her smile was tainted with the poison of sadness, and she could feel its toxins in her chest even as she smiled. That would last for a while, but she just had to believe that it would eventually get better. Move forward, keep pushing, don't give up.   
  
It's what Makari would have wanted.  
  
She took a breath to relax herself and spent a moment just looking at her surroundings. As she turned her head to look at the nearby trees, something caught her eye that was sitting just behind the Raichu. She turned her gaze upon it and her eyes danced a little in wonder. "Is that…?"  
  
Ozu turned around, curious to see what she was looking at. "Ah," he said in recognition as he picked it up with his paws and brought it closer so she could see.  
  
Roxy's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the Thunder Stone. She had only ever seen them in books before. It was a shiny green crystal, almost totally translucent, with the image of a lightning bolt near the middle. It was radiating a soft green glow, and Roxy could swear she saw electricity dancing through the inside of it.  
  
She leaned in a little closer, and immediately she could feel the energy radiating off of it. It swept through the air and passed straight through her body, giving her a very stimulating feeling. It felt like every electron in her body had just taken a shot of espresso. She knew that this was the evolutionary energy contained within that small stone, the power with which three known Pokémon could use to instantly evolve.  
  
Her curiosity got the better of her for a moment as she started to reach out her paw towards it, but she snapped it back to her side before she made contact.  
  
"A Thunder Stone…" she breathed.  
  
"Is that what the humans call them?" Karizu asked with a chuckle, "We know them as the 'Sacred Stones'."  
  
Roxy nodded in answer to the question.  
  
"They are extremely rare out here," Karizu continued to explain, "Only a few know the proper way to seek them out. We are lucky if we can find more than one in the span of four seasons."  
  
"When one of our tribe is selected to become one of us, the wise ones," Ozu added, "they are given one of the few sacred stones that we have, and can become a Raichu."  
  
"Wow…" Roxy murmured. It was really fascinating to see. She had grown up knowing that one of those things could be used to make her evolve, something which she had no interest in, but she had never actually seen one. She wanted to hold it, but was afraid it would accidentally make her evolve. Pokémon were able to stop evolution, right? She racked her brain for the answer.  
  
"It's very pretty," she said, continuing to gaze at it.  
  
Both Karizu and Ozu let out a soft sigh. Then, after a moment of silence, Karizu said something to her in a quiet voice.  
  
"It was to be Makari's."  
  
Roxy's eyes opened a little wider as she absorbed this information. For a moment, she just sat there and continued to silently stare at the stone. Then, she slowly turned to look up at Karizu with a vulnerable look on her face and whispered, "…What?"  
  
"We had decided…that Makari would be the next wise one."  
  
"As soon as one was needed," Ozu added, "Makari would have been presented with the stone."  
  
"He would have made a fine leader…"  
  
Roxy blinked slowly, trying to comprehend what she was hearing. "Did…" she whispered, "Did he know?"  
  
Karizu shook his head. "The choice is not revealed until it is time for the stone to be given."  
  
She wanted to say something else, but found for a moment that her jaw didn't seem to work. Muddled emotions began welling up inside of her upon learning this news. She continued to stare at the stone blankly. Minutes of absolutely nothing passed by, and then she started to feel agitated. Restlessness began to stir within her.  
  
"I…I gotta…" she mumbled as she stood up.  
  
Karizu and Ozu looked at her with mild concern, silently asking where she was going.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes for a moment and steeled herself. When she opened them again, all she said was, "I need to be alone for a little bit…"  
  
When the two Raichu nodded their heads respectfully, she nodded back in thanks and then started to turn around. She hesitated for a second as her eyes fell upon Natoka, who still had neither moved nor said a word. She briefly considered saying something to him, but decided against it.  
  
Right now, she just needed to leave.  
  
Roxy left the glade and walked around aimlessly for a little bit. She wanted to keep her promise to herself and stay out of Makari's hut for more of the day, but she couldn't decide where she wanted to go. Emotions that she wasn't even sure she could identify were boiling up inside of her and threatening to spill over.  
  
Finally, she found a spot within the village where no-one was around. Roxy quickly slipped into the deserted training area.   
  
Roxy stood near the back end, took in a deep breath, and let it out in a shuddering sigh. She was shocked to hear about Makari's Thunder Stone. If he were still alive, he could have been looking forward to holding the most respected position in this tribe. It was like the biggest kind of a 'promotion'.   
  
Now it would never happen. Life had cruelly taken him away before he had even known about it. Had Makari guessed? Had he even aspired to such a position? Roxy would never know, and the world would never know either. It was just another thing cut short.  
  
It…wasn't… _fair_ …!  
  
Roxy quickly realized that the emotion welling up inside of her was anger. She opened her mouth and let out a loud, frustrated scream, and simultaneously drew her fist back and punched it as hard as she could into one of the nearby targets.  
  
The woods fell still as Roxy stood there, panting heavily and shedding more tears. There were tiny rivulets of blood running down the wooden target from where her paw had struck it. She seethed from the pain, but she didn't care. She was just too upset.  
  
She swore loudly and shook her head. "Why…?" she then muttered, "Why did it have to be like this…?"  
  
Roxy couldn't remember the last time she had felt this angry. Everything that had just happened in the last few days felt like an injustice to Makari, to her, and to the whole universe. It was a wrong that she was both desperate and powerless to right. Seeing Makari's Thunder Stone had just reminded her that it was one of many things he would never experience. He would never see it, and he would never get to feel the excitement of being chosen to receive one.  
  
He would never get to become a Raichu.  
  
Roxy was weeping once more, but for a change she didn't feel like sobbing or curling up into a little ball. She wanted to growl and scream and let out all of her frustration.  
  
She wanted to hit more things.  
  
The frustrated Pikachu took a moment, though, and glanced off to the side. She eyed the pile of practice spears, and then went over to pick one up. If she was going to hit things, no use hurting herself any more, right?  
  
With another frustrated growl, she started to swing her spear wildly at the targets, the support beams, and anything else in the training area that looked hittable. She didn't care if anyone saw her. She didn't even care if she ended up breaking something. All Roxy cared about right now was letting out all of her frustration and anger at the way things had gone.  
  
"Makari should be _here!_ " she said as she whacked a target. "He should get that _stone!_ " she shouted, slashing at another target. "He should be awesome and amazing and wonderful, _but now he can't!!_ " With that final exclamation, she brought the spear up high over her head and swung it down as hard as she could on the target in front of her.  
  
There was a resounding _WHACK_ that echoed through the village. It was quickly followed by Roxy's yelp of pain.  
  
She seethed a little and held her paw up to the tender area on her face where the wooden shaft had bounced right back off of the target and hit her. She couldn't feel any blood, but it _really_ stung. She let out a little groan and softly rubbed the sore spot.  
  
"Thanks, universe…" she muttered darkly.  
  
Roxy then glanced down at the spear she had dropped in surprise. She reached down and picked it up. She was still mad enough to hit things, but certainly didn't want that to happen again. As she took a moment's pause and gazed down at the practice spear, she remembered something that Taka had once taught her about knockback.  
  
She gripped the spear and faced the target, once again imagining that it represented all of the problems she was facing. She racked her brain and tried to remember what Taka had taught her. She had learned something about how precisely to strike so as to minimize knockback.  
  
It took a bit of effort to remember his lesson, but when she next struck the target with just as much force, she didn't end up with another stinging welt on her face. Roxy focused and hit the target a third time, receiving the same successful result. Roxy let out a quiet grunt of approval, complimenting herself for remembering what Taka had taught her.  
  
But what about her punch? Hadn't Taka taught her something about that too…?  
  
Roxy then resumed attacking the targets, both with and without her spear. This time, though, she started thinking back on the lessons Taka had taught her. Before long, she found herself surprised at just how much she could remember.   
  
Soon, she wasn't so much taking out her aggression, but rather training and practicing. So many of Taka's lessons started to come back to her, and she ended up practicing each one and seeing if she could still do it.  
  
Eventually, Roxy glanced up and was shocked to see that the sun was setting. She immediately questioned just how long she had been there. Where had the time gone? Apparently, she had been training all day and hadn't even realized it.  
  
Roxy put down her spear and contemplated this for a moment.  
  
"…Huh."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The next day arrived. Roxy awoke bright and early, and immediately went to the training area. By the time the sun was up past the horizon, Roxy had already begun to practice. As morning passed overhead and shifted into noon, Roxy spent the whole time training.  
  
She had hardly even paid any attention to the fact that it had snowed overnight. It wasn't a whole lot, as it had stopped falling from the sky before she had woken up. Rather, there was simply a thin coating of white covering the ground and the trees. It was only slightly chillier than it had been in the past few days.  
  
Roxy found that training was the perfect thing to keep her mind occupied. When she had been sitting around, doing nothing, her whole mind had been filled with horrible thoughts, crushing depression, and worsening anxiety. Training was giving her brain a chance to focus on something else.  
  
It was working great. Roxy did not completely forget about Makari. He was still present in her thoughts, but she didn't allow her mind to dwell on them. She needed to focus on remembering the proper techniques and keeping her stance steady. It turned out to be very therapeutic.  
  
She, of course, took breaks every now and then to rest or to eat something. In those moments of downtime, she did feel her mood slip a little bit as she started to veer back towards those darker thoughts. However, she found that it wasn't as bad. With her mind working on a challenge like this, she was still using it to reflect on what she had just done and think of ways to improve.  
  
A few others stopped by to train, and she greeted them all with a smile and a wave. She didn't feel better enough to smile brightly and act cheerful, but her cloudy mood was starting to let a few rays of sunshine through.  
  
Miri stopped by as well to see how she was feeling, and was pleasantly surprised to see such an improvement in Roxy's demeanour. She wasn't patronizing at all, and was happy to let Roxy get back to what she was doing.  
  
The whole day passed by, and Roxy spent it improving her skills. A lot of Taka's lessons were coming back to her, and she was even beginning to teach herself. She had figured out the basics of the sharpened wooden sticks that resembled daggers all on her own. Though maybe not quite as optimistic as she could be, Roxy started to feel a little of that confidence, which she had lost on that fateful outing, starting to return.  
  
The sun started to set, and most of the villagers started to return to their huts. Roxy decided that she would get in another ten minutes or so of training and then go do the same.   
  
She gripped the spear tightly in her paws and stared at the waiting target. She had been practicing with the bows, the daggers, and even experimented a little with the boomerang, but now she had returned to the trusty spear. After just a few moments of silent preparation, she started to dash forward. With a mighty leap in the air, Roxy performed a perfect jump slash. A solid, perfectly straight scratch mark appeared on the wooden target, bisecting it perfectly.  
  
Roxy straightened up from her landing and let out a huff, smiling in satisfaction at her accomplishment. That had been one of the first things she had ever learned, and she was getting close to mastering it. In a way, it was still astounding to her. If the Roxy of last year could see what she was doing now, she would be floored.  
  
Her ears twitched as she heard pawsteps in the snow. She turned to see who it was, and almost dropped her spear.  
  
Standing at the edge of the training area, equally frozen in place, was none other than Taka.  
  
The warrior was looking at her with an unreadable expression. His brows were furrowed, but his eyes were wide. To Roxy, it looked sort of like a mix between surprise and crossness. Roxy, meanwhile, just stared at him. Taka had been missing since the funeral, and everyone had been getting really worried about him. Now, here he was, just standing there. Roxy was afraid that if she did anything, Taka would run away again like a frightened Deerling.  
  
His eyes were moving around, taking in what he saw. Was he surprised to see that she was training? Roxy thought that he looked indecisive about something. She could only imagine what might be going through his head, given recent events.   
  
Then, slowly, a frown began to form, until Taka scowled and spat out an irritated groan. He then turned tail and ran off.  
  
"Hey!" Roxy called after him, quickly discarding her spear and taking off on all fours in pursuit. "Taka, wait!!" she called as she ran, "Come back! Please!"  
  
Taka didn't stop or even slow down. He didn't answer her, and he didn't even turn his head back to acknowledge her. He simply kept running through the trees, and he was really fast which made it hard for Roxy to keep up.  
  
"Taka!" she called again through her panting, straining to keep him in sight. This was hard enough despite the fact that she was worn out after training all day. "Taka, stop!" She couldn't let him get away, though. Taka was obviously going through some really difficult emotions, which had to be the reason why he had been missing in action. Also, though, she just really wanted to talk to him about what had happened.  
  
Roxy darted around a tree, having almost lost sight of the speedy Pikachu. She was just barely able to see him reach the base of a thick tree and climb it. She slowed down for a moment and caught her breath, thankful that it wasn't yet too dark for her to have seen him. Once she could breathe properly again, she made her way towards the base of the tree.  
  
There, she craned her neck and looked up. The tree was really tall, but she couldn't see Taka anywhere up there. "Taka?" she called out, but again received no answer. Roxy figured that he could have just easily jumped from tree to tree and gotten away from her, but she figured she had to at least try.  
  
Roxy then began to scale the tree as well. This was the one thing she was very adept at doing, having climbed countless trees back home. She had developed an impressive sense of balance when it came to skinny platforms such as branches. With a series of quick little hops, she ascended higher and higher into the tree. The branches were covered with a little bit of snow, but she just made sure to take extra care with her footing.  
  
The tree just kept going though. She was only about halfway up when she figured she would have been near the top. This may have been the tallest tree in the forest for all she knew. Luckily, Roxy was scared of a lot of things, but heights didn't bother her at all.  
  
Finally, as she neared the top and the tree started to thin out, Roxy glanced upwards. There, perched on the highest branch that could support his weight, was Taka. His boomerang was hooked onto his back and he was facing away from her, staring out at the sunset.  
  
"Taka?" she called up to him, quieter this time. When he still didn't respond, she said, "Taka, please…I just wanna talk to you. Everybody's been worried about you…" She frowned and hopped up one more branch. "It's…been a really hard time. For me. For everyone. I know you don't really like to show weakness and all that, but…He was your brother, Taka…I know you must be hurting."  
  
"Go. Away."  
  
Roxy froze in surprise from the harsh, icy tone in Taka's voice. It didn't sound anything like the Taka she knew. Regardless, she didn't back down. "I…Taka, I just…I-I don't think it's good for you to…Well, I dunno if I'm really an expert on this…" She hopped up another branch, leaving only one more branch between him and her. "It's just that this is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through…and it still hurts so much…so I can only imagine how much it hurts you…right?" Roxy gazed up imploringly at him, but he still didn't move a muscle.  
  
She frowned and leapt up towards the next branch. "Taka, c'mon. I-" When she landed, however, her hind paws slipped on the snow that was covering the branch. "Waah!" she cried out in sudden panic as her paws slipped out from under her. Seconds later, she was airborne. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as she realized that she had just slipped off of a branch at the top of one of the tallest trees in the forest.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and screamed again. If this didn't kill her, it was going to _hurt_.  
  
A mere half-second later, after her life had briefly flashed before her eyes, Roxy's fall was halted. Her scream died on her lips and she opened her eyes. She hadn't landed on anything, but was now dangling suspended in the air.  
  
Roxy glanced up, and marveled at what she saw. Taka had slipped off of his own branch, using both his tail and his boomerang to hold onto it and hang below it, and had grabbed onto her paw with his other free forepaw.    
  
For a moment, she just stared up at him dumbly. Taka had _caught_ her. Barely a single second had passed since her paws had slipped on the snow, and he had leapt into action and caught her before she could fall. A moment later, a shiver ran up her spine as she imagined what could have just happened to her.   
  
Taka just stared down at her with a plain expression, looking neither relieved nor angry. He looked at her in silence for a moment as he continued to hang there with her, and then he indicated with a nod of his head that she should climb back to safety on the branch in front of her. He swung her just a little bit forward, and she was able to securely grab onto the branch she had slipped off of. A moment later she had climbed up on it, after which Taka swung himself back up onto his own branch.  
  
She took a breath to slow her rapid heartbeat, and then looked up at the other Pikachu. He had gone back to sitting in that same spot, but now he was looking over his shoulder at her. A moment later, he shifted to the side, away from the tree's trunk.  
  
"If you insist on staying," he said in a low voice, though not quite as icy as before, "then sit up here where you will not fall." He punctuated his statement by tapping his paw on the empty spot between himself and the trunk.  
  
Roxy was silent for a moment, and gazed up at him. He might have just saved her life, for all she knew. It still didn't seem like he wanted to talk, but it did seem much safer sitting next to him and against the trunk, rather than just standing on a snow-covered branch. Besides, she had to thank him.  
  
A moment later, she jumped up gracefully and pulled herself up onto the branch next to Taka. She sat herself down securely, resting against the trunk and curling her tail around the branch a bit for stability. Once she was comfortable, she turned to look at Taka. He had returned to gazing out silently at the sunset. At first she thought of saying something to him, but then decided to turn and look out at the sunset as well.  
  
The sight truly did take her breath away. She had never seen the sunset without all of the trees in the way. It was sinking below the tree-filled horizon, casting the warm colours of dusk across the sky and the clouds. Its waning light filtered through the distant trees, casting the whole land in a strange but beautiful illumination. It again reminded Roxy of just how beautiful this forest could be.  
  
After at least five minutes of total silence had passed between them, Roxy finally opened her mouth. "Thank you," she said in a quiet voice, "Thank you for…catching me."  
  
As she figured, he didn't reply. She didn't dwell on it, though. The most important thing to her was having expressed her gratitude to him. Instead, complete silence reigned as the two watched the sun set. The silence lasted for quite a few minutes, until Roxy finally decided that she needed to say something else.  
  
"…I'm sorry you lost your brother."  
  
She turned to look at him, but still it was as if she were not even there.  
  
"I've…I didn't have siblings growing up. I don't know what it's like to have a brother. So, um…I can't say I know how you feel right now. Not exactly." She paused and glanced away, biting her lip a little. "I just know that I…I cared for Makari _so_ much." She started to choke up a little, but kept on speaking. "And it hurts so much, now that he's gone…"  
  
Roxy took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "To me…he was special, but to you…he was your brother. He was family. If it hurts me this bad, I can only imagine how much it hurts you. And…I, um…" Roxy stammered over her words for a moment. "I'm sorry…I know you don't, y'know…like to show emotions, or whatever. I just…I know how it feels. Partially, anyway. I just wanna be there f-"  
  
" _Shut! Up!_ "  
  
Letting out a quiet little screech, Roxy jumped just as much as her heart did, and she shied away from Taka's sudden outburst. She had nearly fallen out of the tree again.  
  
Taka had turned to look at her, and was now giving her a rather venomous glare with his teeth grit in anger. He was taking in quick, deep breaths. To Roxy, it looked like he was barely holding in his anger and was trying to keep himself from lashing out at her. Roxy was not shy to admit that she was scared.  
  
After about thirty tense seconds, Taka's glare softened a bit. He closed his mouth into a frown and furrowed his brow, keeping his gaze locked on her. Then, finally, he let out a heavy sigh and turned away. Roxy remained frozen on the spot until she saw his shoulders slump and his head hang down a touch.  
  
"Why _you_?" he muttered almost under his breath.  
  
Roxy carefully shifted herself back into a secure sitting position. "What…?" she spoke in a soft, calm voice.  
  
"I cannot understand it…" Taka continued to mutter, "Why you? What it is about you? What is so _special_ about you?"  
  
Roxy blinked and tilted her head. "What d'you mean?"  
  
Taka tilted his head to look at her, and he still had half of a glare on his face. Roxy flinched just a little.  
  
"Makari was there since I was an egg," Taka spoke, "Whatever happened, and whatever the world threw our way, we were always brothers and we were always there for one another. We knew everything about each other." Taka then turned back to the sunset. "Then suddenly, _you_ drop right out of the sky, and he becomes obsessed with you. Suddenly everything is about you. Night and day. Your every whim is of utmost importance."  
  
Roxy hesitated, not sure how to respond. "I…I, uh…"  
  
"From the moment he met you, he _insisted_ that we bring you back to the village and do everything to keep you safe. He knew you for a pawful of months, and it was obvious even before he said so that he had fallen in love with you. Why? Why _you_? What makes you _so_ special that you could get inside of his head so quickly?!"  
  
Now Roxy was frowning, idly twiddling with her paws. "I…I dunno…" she murmured, "I just…I loved him. I was so happy when I knew that he loved me too…" This line of conversation was easily drawing out her tears, but she just wiped them away and kept talking. "I was just…Th-that's just love, right? It just…happens. I can't explain it, but I could never change it either…Haven't you ever loved someone like that?"  
  
Taka just continued to stare at the sunset with a moody expression. "I do not think I will ever understand it…" he muttered, frustration evident in his voice, "You became _so_ much a part of his life. He started neglecting his duties to take care of you, and before he would have never done that. From the moment you arrived, you somehow managed to take all of his attention for yourself. You were like a Delcatty, somehow poisoning his mind with infatuation. Heaven forbid he would spend the time to speak with me, _his own brother_ …!"  
  
Roxy stared at him in silence for a moment, the gears in her head turning. "Taka…" she ventured slowly, "Are you- Were you…jealous of me?"  
  
Taka turned and gave her a glare that suggested he wouldn't hesitate to push her right off of the branch.  
  
She quickly backpedaled. "Well, okay, maybe 'jealous' isn't the right word, but…Are you upset because I, um…sorta…took him away from you?"  
  
He didn't reply, and simply sighed in frustration as he turned his gaze away from her once more. Roxy bit her lip. All she had were wonderful, happy memories with Makari, and just thinking of him made her heart ache. But, had those happy times come at the cost of making Taka upset? That definitely hadn't been her intention. She tried to convince herself that Taka was just overreacting because he was upset.  
  
To that end, Roxy commented to herself that she had never seen Taka like this before. He was handling it in his own unique way, but Taka was definitely upset. This was good, right? This was why she had wanted to talk to him.   
  
"Do you know what my brother's last words were?"  
  
Roxy's heart skipped a beat. She stared at him, wide-eyed. "…What?"  
  
Taka slowly turned his gaze back up to her, giving her an eerily calm glare. "The last words Makari ever spoke…The last thing he said to be before he could breathe no more…Do you know what he said?"  
  
She thought back, and she could vaguely remember Makari whispering something in his ear. Not knowing what had been said, she timidly shook her head.  
  
"Six words." Taka then turned himself around so that he was facing her more directly. He stared at her with that icy look of his, remaining silent for a few seconds, and then he leaned in close to her. Roxy's fur stood on end as he whispered the words to her, just as Makari had whispered them to him.  
  
"'Keep her safe. Keep her happy.'"  
  
As he leaned back away from her, Roxy felt as if her heart had stopped entirely. She was left with her jaw hanging open slightly, staring off into space as this news set in. The revelation that Makari had used his last precious breath to tell this to Taka hit her with a mix of emotions. It was astounding, and it was really touching. It warmed her heart in such a powerful way. Even to the very end, Makari had shown that he had truly loved her, and it brought a tear to her eye.  
  
At the same time, looking at Taka and his angered expression, Roxy also felt troubled. What Makari had said was wonderful to her, but she could easily see how it was far less wonderful to him. It made her feel like she didn't deserve those words, and that they should have been something else that would have made Taka feel happier. Roxy was just in disbelief. Had Makari _really_ said that?  
  
"Taka, I…I don't know what to say…"  
  
"My own brother…" he murmured, "Moments from death…and that is what he had to say."  
  
"I'm s-"  
  
"Do you understand now?" Taka suddenly snapped, "Why _you?!_ "  
  
" _I don't know!!_ " Roxy suddenly shouted, anguish in her voice and tears streaking down her fur.   
  
Taka kept his gaze on her steady, but didn't say anything else.  
  
"I'm sorry, Taka! It just happened. Isn't that what love's s'posed to do?! He made me so happy, Taka. I was miserable out here, and I _still_ am, but he made things so much better. I didn't mean to make you upset and I'm sorry if I did, a-and I…I…"  
  
After a moment of watching her fumble over her words, Taka sighed and closed his eyes. His anger seemed to wash away from him, leaving him calm and collected.  
  
Roxy sniffled, trying to get her own emotions under control, impossible though it seemed. "Taka…We both loved Makari. In some ways it was different, but in some ways it was the same. I know he was your brother and you two have been so close for your whole lives. I don't know what that's like, so I don't know exactly how you feel…but I was in love with him. In a different way, I was just as close to him as you were…"  
  
She brought her paw up to wipe away more of her tears. "Taka I hate feeling like this…a-and everybody in the village is getting worried about you. Can we please…just be strong for each other? You lost a brother, and I lost…a very, _very_ special Pokémon… I've never had a brother, but have you ever lost someone that you loved the way I loved Makari?"  
  
He didn't answer. He didn't even look at her.  
  
"…Taka?"  
  
He softly grumbled, so Roxy decided to drop the conversation. She sniffled and wiped away some more tears. This wasn't what she wanted. Losing Makari had left a big enough hole in her heart. She didn't need to have it torn open larger by Taka's harsh words.  
  
"You will never know what it is like…"  
  
Roxy perked up at the sound of Taka's quiet voice.  
  
"To stare into your brother's dying eyes…beg the heavens to let him hold on just a little bit longer…He only has precious few seconds, precious few breaths left, and he doesn't even say to you 'I love you'…'I will miss you'…'Be strong, my brother'…"  
  
She gazed at him as he spoke. There was obvious pain in his words. _Deep_ pain. Yet, he was holding himself together remarkably well. No tears, no sobbing, not even a frown on his face. Taka was managing to keep all of his emotions safely inside of him. That wasn't healthy, was it?  
  
It felt like a stab in the heart, though, to hear those words. It gave her a little bit of an insight into what Taka was going through. It was hard for her to put her own pains aside and see the pains of others, though she knew they were there. Taka had lost a part of his family forever, and there had been no parting words between them.  
  
Then, a thought occurred to her. "Taka?"  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
"Taka…Why didn't you say anything at your brother's funeral?"  
  
Taka turned and gave her a glance with one eye, caught somewhere between skeptical and irritated.  
  
"Please, just…tell me the answer?" Roxy begged.  
  
The other Pikachu closed his eyes once more, and then spoke. "We do not speak at funerals," he stated, echoing Miri's words from earlier, "The deceased's life has been lived. Their accomplishments, their tragedies, their loves and their hates, and everything of value that they contributed to the world…these are things that need not be said, because they are there for all to see."  
  
Roxy nodded. "Uh huh," she said, "You don't say anything because everybody knows. Well, um…Makari was doing the same, I think."  
  
Taka gave her a puzzled look.  
  
"Makari didn't say that he loved you because…well, because you already knew that. I think Makari was sure of this. There was no need to say he loved you because you both knew it." Roxy glanced away and mulled this thought over for a bit. "I guess…that's why he didn't say it to me either." She smiled a moment later.  
  
When she looked back towards Taka, his expression hadn't changed. She started to get a little nervous that she wasn't getting her point across.  
  
"Makari…" She sighed. "Makari was just so loving…and caring…I think, in a way, he loved everyone in this village. Maybe given enough time, he would love everyone in the whole forest, or the whole world! He knew…that _you_ knew that he loved you…but he didn't know if I would be okay." Roxy bit her lip and held her foreleg with a paw. "That's…why he said that…"  
  
While he still didn't answer, Taka's gaze had softened and he had turned back to the sunset.  
  
"He was so compassionate. Who am I? I'm nobody out here, but he still cared so much about me. In a way, I guess he still does…"  
  
"He was very brave. A strong warrior like no other."  
  
Roxy looked over in surprise when she heard Taka speak. After a moment of silence, she added, "He was…"  
  
"He was very smart. He always had the answer."  
  
A small smile appeared on Roxy's face. "He was very generous."  
  
"He handled his errors with dignity and respect."  
  
"He was a sympathetic shoulder to cry on."  
  
"Above anything else, he had a strong sense of what was right and wrong…Something I, perhaps, could have learned more from him."  
  
Taka then turned to regard her. Once more, a moment of silence passed between them. Then, Roxy saw something that she had never seen before in her whole life. Taka smiled.  
  
"I think you may be right," he spoke, "I understand now why he said what he said." After a pause, he added one more thing. "Thank you, young one."  
  
Roxy blinked once, then smiled once more. "H-he really was amazing, wasn't he…?" she said, on the verge of tears once more.  
  
"He was…" Taka said sorrowfully.  
  
"I'm gonna miss him forever."  
  
"As will I." Taka then sighed and looked her straight in the eyes. "I must apologize for snapping at you earlier," he said, "I fear that I had let my emotions cloud my mind. I could not see things as they really were. Now I feel as though my brother's honourable death has been sullied by my misguided feelings." He grimaced a little. "Makari, can you ever forgive me…?"  
  
"Oh, of course he'll forgive you. Didn't we just go through this? He loved you!" Roxy said, trying to put on a reassuring smile, "And, well…I forgive you too, Taka. It's fine. You weren't yourself. I mean…" Now it was her turn to sigh. "Losing a brother can't be easy."  
  
He continued looking into her eyes, seeming lost in thought for a moment. Then, he said, "Losing a loved one is not any easier…"  
  
Roxy's eyes widened a bit, and then her lips curled into a sad smile. She wanted to hug Taka, but was afraid that one way or another that would lead to her falling off of the branch.  
  
When things grew silent once more, she asked him a question. "Did Makari really whisper that to you…?"  
  
"He did."  
  
"That's…I can't even believe it. To know he really did care about me that much…"  
  
Taka simply nodded.  
  
"Is that…why you caught me? When I fell?"  
  
He gave her a sidelong glance with an arched eyebrow. "Of course not," he replied, "You were falling and you were going to hurt yourself. I do not want to see you, nor anyone in this tribe for that matter, getting hurt."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy said, feeling just a hint of disappointment.  
  
A moment of awkward silence passed, with Taka once more gazing out at the sunset. The sun had almost completely disappeared from view, and the world around them was starting to get dim.  
  
"Taka…?" she spoke in a quiet, timid voice, "Does this mean we can be…friends now?"  
  
After more uncomfortable silence, Taka answered her. "No."  
  
She grimaced a twinge. "Really…?"  
  
"Do not take it the wrong way," he continued, "I used to _dis_ like you."  
  
"Y…You mean you don't now?"  
  
"I have realized that I have not been treating you fairly. Not in the days before Makari was lost, nor in the days afterwards. You are very different from me, and that is something I simply must accept. That said, though, your words tonight have been…helpful. I am finding it…" The tiniest of trembles passed over him. "…difficult to come to terms with his death…but getting angry at you will not make anything better."  
  
Roxy smiled softly and reached over to pat him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Taka…I know this is hard for both of us."  
  
"Do not touch me."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Yet another moment of awkward silence, and then Taka cleared his throat. "I will return to the village later tonight. You should get back before it gets too dark."  
  
Roxy glanced around at the fading light and nodded. "I just have one more question, though." When Taka turned to look at her, she asked, "Was that you…looking in through the door of Makari's hut a few nights ago?"  
  
Taka sighed and nodded. "I…wanted to spend some time alone in my brother's hut, hoping to calm myself with a feeling of familiarity with something that was connected to him. I…did not expect to see you there."  
  
"Oh…Sorry. The wise ones gave me his hut to stay in."  
  
"This was distressing to me at first, but I realize there is no reason for me to have any qualm over this." He turned to look at her once more. "While I may not understand it, you two were in love…and besides, I think you need it more than I do."  
  
Roxy spent a moment just looking at him. She was starting to see more than just anger and irritation in his eyes, like she had always seen before. She had always known that Taka was more than just a stuck-up sourpuss, and it was refreshing to finally see that.  
  
"Thanks, Taka," she said, "And thanks for…understanding."  
  
He nodded in response, and she stood up on her paws. "I'm gonna go now," she announced. Roxy then began to carefully make her way back down the tree. She took care to plan out every jump from branch to branch, and kept her paws gripped tight on both the branches and the trunk.  
  
"Hey!" Taka called down to her when she was about eight branches down from him.  
  
She paused and glanced back up, luckily still having a clear view of him.  "Yeah?"  
  
"It is the middle of winter now. Are you warm enough at night?"  
  
"Uhh…" Roxy muttered, not expecting the question. "Sorta. I guess…" she then replied.  
  
"I will find you another blanket," he stated.  
  
For a moment, Roxy just stood there unsure of how to respond. Then, she smiled warmly. Taka had been a closed book since she had met him. A mere bud of a flower lacking any hue at all. Now, though, perhaps she was starting to see his colours after all. It had been eluding her for quite a while, but perhaps there was a tiny silver lining to be found.  
  
"Hey, Taka?" she called back up.  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"You never answered one of my questions."  
  
Taka looked down at her with an impassive look, and then turned once more back towards the sunset. He was silent for quite a bit of time, and Roxy was just about to give up and keep climbing down the tree when he finally uttered a response.  
  
"His name was Izuki…"  
  
Roxy simply gazed up and nodded in comprehension. That was all that needed to be said after all. With that, she turned around and jumped down one more branch.  
  
"Take care not to fall," Taka's voice floated down to her, "I will not be able to catch you if you are that far down."  
  
Roxy paused, turned, and gave him a sidelong glance. A little smirk appeared on her face and she shook her head. As the last rays of the sun vanished, Roxy safely made her way back to the base of the tree and made her way back to Makari's hut.


	18. The Invasion

"Miri, do you ever just sit sometimes and think about what life is all about?"  
  
Roxy gazed over at the Audino sitting nearby, and saw that she hadn't quite expected that question.  
  
"I…suppose so," Miri answered hesitantly, "I think it must be something that everybody thinks about at some point or another."  
  
"Hm."  
  
Roxy was sitting with Miri on one of the raised walkways between two of the village's treehouses. The former was sitting down, slumped to the side and lazily resting her head on the six-inch parapet that encircled edge of the walkway. The latter was sitting nearby in a more dignified position, idly weaving together something with vines.  
  
"…Why do you ask?" Miri spoke up.  
  
Roxy shrugged. She saw out the corner of her eye that Miri was frowning at her.  
  
"Roxy, are you feeling all right? Is there something you want to talk about?"  
  
The Pikachu simply breathed in through her nose and let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Not really…" she murmured. In truth, she was just feeling moody and down in the dumps. She hadn't felt like this yesterday, but today she had just woken up with storm clouds over her head. The snow that had accumulated had already started to melt, and Roxy knew it would only be a week or two before things finally started getting warmer. However, her mood had nothing to do with the weather.  
  
"If there is anything you want to talk about, you know that I am right here for you."  
  
"I know, I know…" Roxy mumbled, as Miri had said that very same thing at least five times already, "I don't really have anything to talk about. I just feel bleh…"  
  
"'Bleh'?" Miri replied with a tilt of her head, "Is that a human word?"  
  
Roxy tilted her head and looked over at Miri. Then, after a moment, she chuckled quietly. "Thanks for caring, Miri," she said.  
  
"Of course, Roxy. Of course. That is what I am here for."  
  
"I just feel kind of down…"  
  
Miri sidled herself a little closer to her. "Well, tell me how you have been feeling as of late."  
  
Roxy let out another heavy sigh. She could feel it in her heart. "It's been three weeks…"  
  
A somber look appeared on Miri's face, and she simply nodded.  
  
"It still hurts…Deep down there's this hurt whenever I think of him…I'm trying so hard to be strong, like I know he would want me to be…"  
  
"I know that must be difficult for you, Roxy, but I also think that it is to be expected. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things to go through."  
  
Roxy swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded. "I guess…sometimes it's hard to see the future. Even before I fell in love with him, he was always there in my future in one way or another. I always thought he would be the one to…lead me home."  
  
Miri glanced away for a moment, giving this some thought.  
  
"Right now, the biggest challenge is getting the strength to move on. I'm just trying so hard…"  
  
"But, I think you are doing quite well, Roxy. Especially considering that, well…death is not so common to you."  
  
Roxy flinched at the word 'death'.  
  
"It was not any of us that made you get up, leave the hut, and start living life again. That was all you. We knew it would be tough for you, but I think many of us had faith that you would be okay given enough time." After a pause, she added, "To be honest, we were more concerned about Taka…"  
  
"I kinda was too…"  
  
"We were very glad to see him return, though he still expresses no desire to speak about his brother…"  
  
"He's just…We both lost a loved one, so…" Roxy glanced away and took a few calming breaths of the fresh forest air. "On the other paw, I'm glad that I don't have to worry about training or fighting anymore. That's a load off of my mind. I guess I'm thankful that it came at such a helpful time."  
  
"I have seen you at the training area quite often, though," Miri said, "You seem to be continuing your training anyway."  
  
Roxy waffled with her words a bit before replying. "It's…different. I started doing that at first to keep my mind occupied, y'know? Then I just sort of…kept doing it. It's a lot different when Taka's not there doing what he calls 'teaching', and there's no pressure to learn fast. If it's just me at my own pace, I enjoy it a little more."  
  
"I see," Miri said with a nod.  
  
"But, I mean…" Roxy continued with a half-hearted chuckle, "I'm still not a fighter at all. I can barely swing a spear around properly. I wouldn't be able to fight anyone in this village or this whole forest…not even you!"  
  
Now this made Miri laugh. "Roxy, come now. You know that I do not fight."  
  
"You'd still beat me."  
  
"Oh, I think you are being ridiculous."  
  
Roxy simply shrugged, the faintest hints of a smile on her lips. Talking with Miri was helping her bad mood a little, but it wasn't a perfect cure. At the back of her mind, there was still the memory of Makari, and the sadness that came with it. It was something that was always there. A burden of sadness that she had to carry with her everywhere.  
  
At that moment, though, they both began to notice a commotion. Pokémon on the ground and in the distance were talking, yelling and making a ruckus. Roxy and Miri both stood up and made their way to the parapet, where they looked down to see what was happening.  
  
The villagers directly below them looked confused, apparently still unsure of what was happening. In the distance, though, they could see warriors running about. Something was happening, and from the sound of the shouting, it wasn't good.   
  
Roxy saw one of the wise ones, Karizu, in the distance looking like he was trying to organize the growing chaos. He held his spear out like a giant pointer and directed Pokémon around.  
  
Hearing a familiar voice, Roxy and Miri glanced down to see that Natoka was below them. He was asking the nearby villagers what was going on, but wasn't getting many answers. When he saw the other Raichu in the distance, he started to run towards him.  
  
But, Karizu was already running towards _him_. Natoka slowed down when he saw this, and soon the two Raichu met up. "Karizu!" the latter shouted, "What is happening?"  
  
"They are here!" Karizu replied, slightly out of breath.  
  
"Who? Who is here?"  
  
There was a loud crashing sound in the distance, drawing everyone's attention. More Pikachu warriors started flooding through the trees and into the village, running past the Raichu or staying near them. Roxy gasped when she saw blood dripping from wounds on many of them.  
  
Roxy whimpered quietly and watched in both fear and awe as suddenly, the whole village was on the move. Most Pokémon were rushing towards the two Raichu, who were standing in a small clearing about the size of three huts. Other Pokémon, mostly females, were running in the opposite direction. Most of them were leading or carrying cubs away.  
  
"Miri?" Roxy squeaked, "What's happening?"  
  
"I…do not know."  
  
A rather sizable group of warriors had now assembled in the small clearing, including Ozu who had showed up in the midst of the confusion. Everyone was talking and shouting, but Roxy couldn't make anything out. Many warriors were holding their weapons up and rushing into the nearby trees. However, even more were fleeing back _out_ of the trees.  
  
"I need to get down there," Miri was saying, "They need medi-"  
  
There was a loud _crunch_ that nearly made Roxy jump out of her skin. Her frantic eyes scanned their surroundings until she saw a tree not too far away snap and fall to the ground. It made a tremendous, frightening crash as it hit the forest floor. One brave Pikachu ran forward to the tree to investigate.  
  
A moment later, a powerful limb reached over the fallen tree's trunk and swatted the Pikachu away like a tiny Bug-type. Roxy had to stifle a scream. Then, from behind and around the tree, the enemy finally made itself visible as they advanced towards the village. Roxy's pupils shrunk to pinpoints as she felt her heart nearly stop.  
  
The Earth Tribe was back.  
  
The _entire_ Earth Tribe.  
  
Roxy watched in horror as tons of Thunder Clan brethren ran for their lives away from the slowly advancing group of Ground-types. The more she looked, the more Roxy realized that this was more than just a group of Pokémon. This was an _army_.  
  
There was a line of at least ten Graveler marching forward in near-unison. They were at the front of the group, smirking as weapons from the Thunder Clan bounced uselessly off of their bodies. Amidst their ranks was a single Golem, who was _humongous_. Roxy didn't doubt that he was the one who had knocked over the tree.  
  
Behind them were scores of Pokémon, all manner of Ground-types. There were tons of Sandshew and Sandslash, Marowak and Drilbur. She saw some Diggersby as well, and a couple of Rhyhorn. She even spied two or three Quagsire in their midst. Some of them had brown body paint like the Thunder Clan did, but most did not. Few of them were carrying weapons, but that didn't make any of them look any less threatening.  
  
Roxy cowered behind the parapet, looking down with frightened eyes as the Earth Tribe continued to advance. One of the wise ones shouted an order, and then everyone gave up fighting the intruders and fell back to regroup.   
  
She was too terrified to even think straight. It dawned on her at a painfully slow pace that she was watching the Thunder Clan getting invaded. This group had already pushed past the villagers out on patrol, and hadn't been slowed down by their combined efforts to push back. Now they had reached the village and they didn't look any worse for wear. Like so many times before, she broke her own record for level of fear in that moment. Frozen to the spot, she could only watch in terrified anticipation.  
  
"Roxy, I need to get down there," Miri whispered, "I will be needed."  
  
The little Pikachu didn't look away from the scene below, but she did whine quietly.  
  
"Stay here," Miri instructed in a firm tone, "Stay out of sight. You will be safe here. If anything happens, climb higher into the trees."  
  
She whined again in response.  
  
"It will be okay, Roxy, but I have to go."  
  
Roxy then heard Miri make her way to the ladder and slowly climb down, leaving her alone up on the walkway. She was shivering like mad, feeling sick to her stomach as she watched the very formidable and very dangerous tribe continue to advance. The Thunder Clan were all grouped together at this point, standing strong and facing down their enemy, but Roxy could see many worried faces.  
  
Finally, once the Graveler reached the edge of the small clearing, they came to a halt. The rest of the tribe behind them halted as well. Suddenly, the entire village fell into a terrifying silence.  
  
At first, no-one moved or said a thing. After a moment it looked like Natoka was going to say something in anger, but Karizu stepped in front of him and held him back. He then addressed the newcomers. "Earth Tribe!" he proclaimed, "What is the meaning of this?" There was no anger in his tone, but there was also an underlying demand for answers.  
  
The Earth Tribe continued to remain still. Some looked smug, while others looked rather eager. Then, a few seconds later, a lone figure jumped up on top of the massive Golem, making Roxy quietly gasp.  
  
Tazoka looked down at the assembled Thunder Clan from his high vantage point, wearing that same sickening smile that he always had. "My, my, my…" he said, his voice practically dripping with venom, "This certainly is a full reception, is it not?"  
  
"Tazoka?" Karizu called up to him, "What is going on?'  
  
The Excadrill simply smirked at the Raichu and chuckled darkly.  
  
"Why have you intruded upon our land?!" Natoka demanded in a rage-filled voice. In response, some of the Ground-types began to stir and shout things back at him.  
  
"Oh, such harsh words, Natoka…" Tazoka practically purred, "Such a temper…"  
  
Karizu held out his spear to the side, once more holding Natoka back, and took a step forward. "Valued allies of the Earth Tribe," he announced, "You did not arrive last moon to receive your berries, but we still have them here for you. We are happy to provide them, as well as the berries for this moon." He paused, looking up at Tazoka with brave eyes. "We do not wish to break the agreement, Tazoka," he stated firmly.  
  
Tazoka crossed his forelegs. "That is very amicable of you," he replied. Then he grinned, and Roxy could practically see the 'evil glint' off of his teeth as if she were watching a movie. "We, on the other paw," he continued, "do not see reason to continue this agreement."  
  
Many in the Thunder Clan gasped.  
  
"Your land," he went on to say, "is where the best and most freshest berries grow, and in such plentiful supply. We are quite capable of foraging on our own, so there is really no need for lesser species like yourselves to do it for us."  
  
Roxy shrunk back a little. The logical thing to do was to duck below the short wall, cower, and hide. Yet, she couldn't tear her eyes away from what was happening. She was witnessing the breakdown of the agreement; the only thing that kept this group _safe_ from Ground-types!  
  
"Furthermore…" Tazoka continued, letting his voice dip a little lower, "Not all of us, in this tribe…can subsist entirely on berries."  
  
Roxy's eyes opened even wider, a nervous sweat running down her neck as she understood the connotations of that statement.  
  
Things were tense on both sides, though luckily there was still no-one charging forward. Karizu remained a step ahead of his tribe, still bravely maintaining eye contact with the Excadrill. "Tazoka…" he spoke, "You must reconsider…This agreement has kept our two tribes happy for such a long while. This goes further back than you or I. My father and your father met on equal grounds, and they were very happy with the agreement. And their f-"  
  
"My father was a sentimental old fool!" Tazoka exclaimed, cutting him off, "Ever since he died and I took his place, I have been considering this rather pathetic state of affairs. We are the Earth Tribe! We are strong, we are mighty, and we have no place bowing to the demands of a few tiny spark pups!"  
  
Behind him, the whole tribe let out a cheer.  
  
"This is an insult!" Natoka boomed as he stepped in front of Karizu, who this time was powerless to stop him, "Our tribe works hard, day and night, simply to please you, and this is how you repay us? Do not underestimate our might, Tazoka! This agreement was forged on the grounds of equal strength, so that we could benefit each other."  
  
Tazoka smirked. "Do you _really_ believe that?"  
  
"I _do_!!" Natoka exclaimed without hesitation.  
  
Roxy, meanwhile, was nervously scanning the ranks of the Thunder Clan. She picked out quite a few of them who had bloody injuries from their efforts to prevent the Earth Tribe from entering the village. Trails of blood on the ground marked the passage of many who had already retreated to wherever Miri was hiding. Comparatively, there was not a scratch on any member of the Earth Tribe.  
  
"Perhaps there was a time," Tazoka continued in his sickening voice, "when our tribe did see yours as, hmm…capable? It is admittedly impressive the things you are able to construct out of mere wood, rocks and plants." He then lowered his gaze slightly, causing the blade on his head to cast a dark shadow over his features. "However strong you may have been, though, you have grown soft. You are weak and sentimental, too kind for your own good.  You no longer command the same level of respect, I am afraid."  
  
Natoka growled, while some of the Pokémon behind him gave each other concerned glances.  
  
"Tazoka," Karizu spoke up, "Please consider what you are doing…"  
  
"Oh, I have," Tazoka replied with an eager grin, "and after careful consideration, I have decided that your territory shall become ours. Perhaps, though, you have convinced me to reconsider my options. Okay, I have reconsidered them and my decision remains the same." With that manic grin of his, he began to chuckle.  
  
In response to this, many Thunder Clan warriors held up their weapons to show that they were ready to fight, but Roxy didn't see very much confidence among them.  
  
"Oh, do not try to fight back," Tazoka chided them, "You know it would be a waste."  
  
Natoka glanced back towards Karizu and Ozu, and all three shared a glance. Afterwards, though, the Raichu were all silent. They continued to appear steadfast and resilient, but things were quickly turning from bad to worse.  
  
"I will give you five minutes to leave," Tazoka spoke, "After that, well, I cannot promise what will happen."  
  
"What will happen is that _you_ will be gone!"  
  
Tazoka's grin vanished as he sought out who had dared to shout those words. He didn't have to search long, because Taka was already pushing his way to the front of the crowd and marching forwards. Karizu and Ozu half-shouted at him, trying to keep him from advancing. He ignored them.  
  
There was no other way to describe it. Taka was _pissed_. Roxy wasn't sure she had ever seen a Pikachu so angry before in her whole life. Just looking at that scowl on his face made her feel intimidated. Taka bravely marched across the clearing, heedless of any danger, until he was only about two metres in front of the Golem. None of the Earth Tribe had moved in response, though Roxy wasn't quite sure that was a good thing.  
  
Taka then lifted his boomerang and pointed the tip right at Tazoka. "Turn around and leave us!" Taka demanded, with a threatening gaze in his eyes. Roxy subconsciously shrunk a little further down behind the wall.  
  
Tazoka made a graceful leap off of the Golem and landed right in front of Taka, who didn't flinch even in the slightest. When the Excadrill stood up straight, he crossed his forelegs and looked down upon the smaller Pikachu before him. "Taka," he said in an uncomfortably calm voice, "I am surprised it took you this long to speak up."  
  
"Leave."  
  
Scoffing once, Tazoka shook his head. "Every last one of you has delusions of grandeur… If I say 'no', which you _know_ I am going to say, then what exactly do you plan to do? You should consider yourself lucky that my tribe is standing still and not tearing you all to pieces right now. Try as you might, you know that you cannot harm us."  
  
"I will not ask you again," Taka spoke, "Leave now. Take your berries if you wish. We still freely offer them to you. Either way, turn back and leave. Your Tribe is not welcome here."  
  
Tazoka began chuckling, which sent a chill down Roxy's spine. "Do you speak for your tribe now?" he asked.  
  
"It matters not which one of us speaks it. We all share the sentiment."  
  
"My, your temper seems particularly venomous today…"  
  
Taka said nothing in response to that.  
  
"On any other day, Taka, I would have at least entertained your petty little threats. Even I will not argue that you are the strongest member of this tribe. Now, though, your threats mean nothing. Stand aside, Taka, or I _will_ kill you."  
  
Roxy watched, her heart caught in her throat, as this tense situation unfolded. Tazoka was waiting for Taka to move, but the Pikachu was not budging. She got more anxious with every passing second. This felt like an elastic band, being pulled farther and farther and getting that much closer to snapping.  
  
It happened in the blink of an eye.  
  
One minute, the two had been standing there. The next, Taka had suddenly swung his boomerang upwards, aiming for Tazoka's face, and the Excadrill had blocked it with his claws. A loud _tang_ rang out through the air.   
  
The area fell frighteningly still once more. Roxy couldn't breathe.  
  
Then, Tazoka swung out and Taka blocked. Then, Taka retaliated but Tazoka blocked that as well. In a matter of seconds, the two were fighting. Taka began using his boomerang as a blunt weapon, darting about and swinging wildly at his opponent. Tazoka, meanwhile, slashed out with his claws, aiming for the smaller Pikachu that dodged every strike or blocked them with his boomerang. How strong _was_ the wood in that thing?!  
  
Roxy whimpered and quivered on the spot as she watched their fight begin. "This can't be happening…" she whispered to herself in a trembling voice, "Please, don't let this happen…!"  
  
Taka and Tazoka seemed evenly matched, with neither seeming able to land a hit on the other. They had been fighting for about 15 seconds before others began to move. The rest of the Thunder Clan, at the command of the three Raichu, quickly began to rush forward to assist Taka. When Tazoka saw this, he used up a brief opening in his duel to snap his claws and point forwards.  
  
It was as if he had opened the floodgates. The Ground-types that had been standing patiently behind him all rushed forward at once. The ground seemed to quake as they all moved quickly, like a powerful landslide. Though, astonishingly, every one of them moved seamlessly around Taka and Tazoka, letting them continue their duel.  
  
Roxy wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears, but she couldn't look away. Before her terrified eyes, the forces of the Earth Tribe intercepted the Thunder Clan before they could reach Taka, and the brawl began.  
  
Suddenly the air was filled with war cries as the two armies met one another. The Thunder Clan warriors scattered and tried to use their agility to gain the upper paw, but the Earth Tribe was like a solid wall that none of them could get past. Though some were probably trying, none of them was able to get through so they could help Taka.  
  
Roxy's anxiety spiked to a new all-time high. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs as she watched the Thunder Clan, so many Pikachu and Pokémon that she knew, that were her _friends_. They all wore brave expressions, and they used their skills and their weapons as valiantly as they could.  
  
Yet, they were beginning to lose already. Despite their best efforts, they were still horribly outmatched against the forces of the Earth Tribe. Not a single bolt of electricity could be seen, considering just how useless they would be. Roxy actually saw many warriors stab, smack and skewer the Ground-types with their weapons, and some even managed to dig their spears in a bit. However, each successful blow was laughed off as if they had been hit with a feather. The thick skin of the Ground-types, especially those that were also Rock-types, were proving just how difficult it was to hurt them with sticks and stones.   
  
The most vulnerable of the Earth Tribe, though more susceptible to damage from weapons, had their own defenses. Some like the Sandslash were shockingly fast on their paws, even managing to outrun other Pikachu. Some, like the Quagsire, had more varied attacks at their disposal. She saw Water Guns and other such attacks used to fend off the Thunder Clan and keep themselves from getting hurt.  
  
While this was going on, Tazoka and Taka continued to duel off to the side. Roxy saw that Taka's boomerang had been broken in half, and now he was using a spear. The two circled around one another, darted left and right, and struck out whenever they saw an opening. Neither seemed to be wavering, though she saw more blood on Taka's fur than on Tazoka's. She _hoped_ that this was just due to the colour of the Excadrill's fur.  
  
Roxy whined once more, muttering to herself, "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh…" She was watching an all out brawl, with pretty much everyone she had come to know down there fighting. She saw Kimi get thrown through the air, leading to a rough landing. Roxy had just shared berries with her this morning. There was a painful, growing fear in the depths of her heart, and it was much more than fear for her own life. She had already lost someone. She didn't want to lose anyone else.  
  
On top of worrying about the lives of herself and everyone else, Roxy was also terrified of the aftermath. Even if everyone survived and ran away, then what? She would no longer have this village to keep her safe. She would be out there, possibly all alone, against the dangers of the forest. If this battle ended in defeat, she would lose her shelter, her food source, her safety, and any hope of getting back home.   
  
This was more than a catastrophe. This was a nightmare come to life. And there wasn't anything she could do about it.  
  
It seemed, at the very least, that the Thunder Clan were fighting back defensively. They were being smart and not taking unnecessary risks, considering the formidable foes they were faced with. How long would that last, though? She had already seen at least ten Pikachu stumble away from the fight, clutching wounds to stop the bleeding. Miri was down there somewhere too. Was she safe?  
  
Roxy found she was hugging her tail, and really tightly as well. It took a moment for her to feel the stinging pain from squeezing too hard. Roxy hadn't hugged her tail in quite a long time, but she couldn't stop herself now. She was simply watching this unfold and hoping for the best.  
  
But what was the best? Could the Thunder Clan really win against such odds? Even if they did win, would the Earth Tribe just come back? Should the whole tribe flee before anyone could die? Things were so chaotic down there, that someone she knew could very well have died and she hadn't even noticed. Was there _any_ positive outcome to this, or was this invasion doomed to succeed and she was now trapped in the depths of hell?  
  
She let out another worried whine when she realized something else. Except for Tazoka, the Earth Tribe warriors were _going easy_. Many of them were standing still, and not doing much except for fending off attackers. When an opportunity presented itself, they would strike, but Roxy could easily see that they weren't using their full strength.  
  
And her stomach twisted when she realized the reason why. If the Earth Tribe just came in and attacked mercilessly, then their opponents would have taken the defeat as a sign to get stronger and strike back. By doing this, though, they were showing that they _could_ be stronger. Why would any opponents come back later if they knew that the Earth Clan could do so much more? This was more than an attack, it was a psychological manoeuvre.  
  
A Pikachu let out a cry as she was thrown to the ground.  
  
Another stumbled after his spear failed to make more than a scratch on the Graveler.  
  
An Emolga screamed in pain as she was hit with a Rock Blast.  
  
A Raichu was struck down.  
  
Roxy was beginning to cry now. They were going to lose this battle. There was no question about it. She tried to figure out what she was going to do next, but she couldn't think straight. All she felt was that familiar, horrible feeling that everything around her was crashing down. She was convinced that this was going to be the end of her journey, one way or another.  
  
A loud grunt could be heard, drawing Roxy's attention back over to Taka and Tazoka, who were still dueling on their own. Taka was definitely showing the scars of battle by now, but the worrying thing was that his spear was now broken as well. Taka was facing the Excadrill with no weapon. Both combatants looked like they were starting to get winded, but Taka had his teeth grit and looked like he was in pain. Roxy was witnessing the impossible; Taka was losing.  
  
Tazoka was currently standing in between Taka and the rest of the fight. The fact was that Taka was backed into a corner. If he kept on fighting, it looked like he would lose. But, with Tazoka standing in the way, he couldn't run to the rest of the villagers and their battle, nor could he escape off to where Miri was hiding. He could turn around and run away from the village into the forest, but how far would that get him?  
  
Before she could ponder this any further, Taka took a chance and quickly lashed out at his opponent. Tazoka effortlessly blocked his attack and threw Taka back down to the ground onto his back. Taka groaned and tried to sit up.  
  
Tazoka leapt forward and plunged his claws right into Taka's hind leg.  
  
"No!!" Roxy cried out in horror, and then quickly cupped her paws over her mouth. No-one had heard her, though. She had been drowned out by the blood-curdling scream escaping from Taka's throat. Tazoka's claw had gone deep, maybe even all the way through. To Roxy, it looked like a fountain of blood was erupting from the wound.  
  
 _No…_ she thought to herself. She couldn't lose him too.  
  
Most of the rest of the Thunder Clan had heard his cry, and many immediately tried to come to his aid. Once Tazoka ripped his claws out of Taka's flesh, he snapped his claws once more. The Earth Tribe members stopped fighting back, and instead formed an impenetrable wall so that none could reach the two.  
  
"I told you…" Tazoka said to his downed foe, "You cannot win against us."  
  
Taka had both of his forepaws pressed to the wound to stop the bleeding, so all he could do was look up at the Excadrill and growl.  
  
"I gave you a chance to flee, but you chose not to take it."  
  
"You are despicable," Taka spat, "This is a coward's victory."  
  
"I will not stop you if that is what you choose to believe…"  
  
Tazoka then took a step forward, so that he was looming over the downed Pikachu. Thunder Clan members were desperately trying to break through, but the Earth Tribe was impermeable. Taka was a sitting Ducklett. He couldn't move with an injury like that.  
  
The dread in Roxy's heart felt like heavy black tar. Her breath caught in her throat and she was sweating like crazy. Before her very eyes, the 'invincible' Taka was going to be killed. A frantic voice in her head told her that she had to stop this. She had to help. She had to save him!  
  
But what could she do? Roxy whined at her own inadequacy. Taka was going to be killed, and she couldn't do anything about it. If a whole tribe of strong wild Pokémon stood no chance against an army of Ground-types, then what hope did she have by herself? Running to his aid would only end up getting her killed as well.   
  
Tazoka grinned and sharpened his claws. The moment was approaching. Taka continued to glare at him for a moment, and then closed his eyes and lowered his head, accepting his fate. Roxy's heart beat even faster. This couldn't happen! Someone had to do something! Someone just had to, except there was no-one left to do anything. Those would could fight were trapped by the Earth Tribe, while those who weren't trapped were those who couldn't fight.   
  
Roxy was the only one who _could_ do anything, but what could she possibly do? She had the same weaknesses as everyone down there, plus a whole heap more. What did she have that they didn't? Unless she could somehow, within seconds, find somebody who knew Hydro Pump, or Ice Beam, or…or…  
  
Her eyes shot open wide and she gasped as the thought hit her like a speeding train. Her pupils shrank to dots, though, as this new thought brought with it so much fear and anxiety.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as she considered her options. Her eyes darted everywhere, from Taka to Tazoka to the rest of the tribe, and everywhere in between. She tried her best to see if there were any other possibilities at all, but there was simply no time. Each second that passed was a second closer to Taka's execution.   
  
Roxy's heart hammered against her chest like a gong. Every thump felt like it was asking her the same question.  
  
 _Are you_ really _about to do this?_  
  
She bit her lip. Indecision and anxiety worked together to gnaw away at her confidence, and she was rooted to the spot by fear for a brief second. It was almost enough to make her stay put.  
  
But almost was not enough.   
  
Roxy scrambled on her paws and took off like a bullet. She darted over to the ladder and climbed down faster than anyone had ever climbed before. She was practically jumping down the rungs. She hit the forest floor about a second later, landing just the way she had been taught in training. Without a glance back, and certainly without paying any heed to the voices in her mind screaming at her to _stop_ , she took off running.  
  
"Roxy?!" Miri shouted in disbelief. Roxy caught a brief glimpse of the Audino as she ran past, seeing that she was hiding behind a bush and tending to the wounded. All she saw was Miri holding her paw out to her before she disappeared from view. "Roxy, stop!!"  
  
She didn't stop. She pushed her little paws harder and harder, so they could carry her as fast as possible. There was no time to stop. No time to pause, to breathe, or to think about what in the world she was doing. She harkened back to the very first day in the forest, where she had run faster than ever before in her life.  
  
The difference this time was that she was running _towards_ the danger.   
  
Roxy was small and unassuming, and she was entering the fray from off to the side. With the Ground-types focused on herding all of the Thunder Clan, Roxy was able to skirt by them nearly unnoticed and completely unmolested.   
  
Tazoka's claws were raised in the air. Any moment, he would bring them down and end Taka's life. Roxy pushed her body past its limits. She strained herself to get there on time. The reality of what she was doing came crashing down on her, and she suddenly became convinced that she had just signed her own death warrant.   
  
But, she couldn't stop now. Roxy closed her eyes, braced herself for the pain and mutilation that would come, and made her move.  
  
" _STOOOPPP!!!_ "  
  
The forest fell frightfully quiet. One could have heard a pin drop, and on the leaf-covered ground no less. Everything became still and silent.  
  
Roxy's eyes were closed and her face was cringing away. She stood there, having placed herself between Tazoka and Taka, and kept her forelimbs outstretched as if to shield the downed Pikachu. She quivered like crazy, absolutely expecting to be torn apart in a most painful manner. When, after a few tense seconds, nothing happened, she cautiously opened one eye.  
  
Tazoka was standing there staring down at her, his claw held up in mid-slash. He looked quite surprised, and even a little baffled. "Well, well…" he said after a moment, lowering the claw to his side and tapping his chin with the other, "This was unexpected…"  
  
"Pet…!" Taka hissed from behind her, "What are you _doing_?!"  
  
Now that she saw he wasn't attacking her, at least not immediately, Roxy opened her eyes fully and stared directly into the eyes of the Excadrill. She kept her paws outstretched to shield Taka from Tazoka, and stood up as tall and as firmly as she could.  
  
"I did not expect to see you until our siege was complete," Tazoka spoke with a little confident smirk, "What, oh what, has gotten into your little head?"  
  
"Get out of here…!" Taka urged. His voice sounded weak.   
  
Roxy turned halfway and glanced back at him. His leg had been painted red, and his forepaws were still pressed tightly to the wound. There was a serious, fierce look on his face, the kind one might give to a misbehaving child. She could tell just by looking at him that he would not be moving any time soon.  
  
"Young one…" he hissed, "Run! Do not be a fool, and run!"  
  
Instead, she turned back around so she was facing Tazoka. Behind him, she could see many shocked and worried faces among the ranks of the Thunder Clan. Her appearance had somehow slowed the energy of the entire battlefield. Now, it seemed, everybody was just waiting to see what happened next. Perhaps some of them thought that if they tried anything, she would be killed in response.  
  
The thought _had_ occurred to her as well.  
  
"Go on, little pet…" Tazoka purred, his voice once again sending a shiver down her spine, "This battlefield is no place for someone like you. I do admire your bravery, and I am sure this little _pest_ that you are protecting does as well, but I would advise you not to stand in my way."  
  
Roxy stared up at him, and the two remained silent for at least half a minute. Her nerves were going crazy, and she simply couldn't stop herself from shivering. She was expending a lot of energy just to force herself to ignore all of the warning signs in her head. She knew all too well that Tazoka could kill her in the blink of an eye, and at any second.  
  
"…Leave," she demanded.  
  
Tazoka blinked. "Pardon?"  
  
"Leave," she repeated, and then said, "D-don't hurt him. Leave us alone. W-we don't want to fight." Roxy knew there would be no way to keep the quiver out of her voice, so decided to just ignore it.  
  
Roxy couldn't tell if Tazoka was baffled or amused by her actions.   
  
She gulped, shoving all of her fears down into the depths of her mind, and forced herself to be unwavering. "T-take your army…and go. We don't want to fight. We don't want to break the agreement…"  
  
Tazoka arched an eyebrow but continued to say nothing, which made Roxy feel even more terrified.  
  
"T-take the berries…They said the offer's still there, so…take them." Roxy took in a quick deep breath and let it out slowly. "Please…Don't hurt anyone else…" She stole another quick glance back at Taka. "Don't hurt him. I…I-I won't let you."  
  
"Pet…!" Taka's voice was getting desperate now. "Run! Run away before it is too late!"  
  
"You should listen to him," Tazoka commented casually.  
  
Roxy gulped but held her ground.  
  
"This battleground has no place for the likes of you. If you are not careful, you could get _seriously_ hurt," he said while leaning down closer to her, speaking in a parent-like voice, "Run along and let the grown-ups play."  
  
At this, she gave him a flat look. "I'm not a child…"  
  
"Listen, my dear," he continued, ignoring her, "The law of the forest is taking place here, and I am afraid there is nothing you can do about it. Change is inevitable, my little doe, and it does not favour the weak."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "I said 'go'." She cast a furtive glance at the tribes standing behind him, all of whom were still watching to see what would happen next. The tension was as thick as bone.  
  
Tazoka sighed. "Listen, little pet. I quite like you. I think you are rather charming. If you want to flee now and save your own life, go ahead. I will not stop you. In fact, I will make sure no-one chases after you." He paused for a moment and idly tapped one of his claws on the ground. "However," he continued, "I would advise you to do so before you deplete my _patience_!"  
  
Roxy took a breath of air in through her nose and calmed her wild nerves as much as she could. It was now or never. She had to decide if she was brave enough for what she needed to do next.  
  
"I-If you don't leave…" she stated, firmly but cursing the ever-present tremble in her voice, "Then I will…I-I will _make_ you."  
  
Tazoka snickered loudly. Roxy would have been insulted had she not been terrified. "I beg your pardon?" he asked incredulously. Behind him, Earth Tribe members were giving each other grins and nudges, while Thunder Clan members looked shocked at what she had uttered.  
  
"I will…" _Gulp._ "…force you leave. A-and trust me…It'll hurt…"  
  
As expected, instead of the reaction she wanted, Tazoka gave her a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. "Cute," he commented, "Now get out of the way."  
  
When he took a step forwards, Roxy took one back but remained standing strong with her forelimbs outstretched. "I-I-I'm warning you…!"  
  
"Pet, stop this!" Taka hissed, "He has already defeated me. There is no need for you to do this and waste your life as well."  
  
"Your friend is wise," Tazoka continued, "His advice might save your life."  
  
Roxy could feel the threat of death encircling her completely, crushing her down with the weight of a thousand bodies. She was almost expecting death at this point, and had so many mental voices asking her why she had done this crazy thing.   
  
But still, she couldn't stop now. The moment she stepped aside, Taka would die. "This is your last chance…" she warned the Excadrill with as much bravado as she could muster.  
  
Tazoka gave a huff of frustration. "Fine. You want to die? I will deal with you after this one," he said as he stepped forward, intending to shove right past her.  
  
A chorus of audible gasps filled the clearing a moment after Roxy had forcefully shoved him back. Now, Tazoka was staring down at her, once more dumbfounded. She could see him silently asking himself, ' _Did she_ really _just do that?!_ '  
  
"Leave us…alone!!" she shouted, meanwhile praying that this would actually work. After another moment of tense silence, Tazoka uttered four frightening words.   
  
"That was a mistake."  
  
He took a step forward and raised his claw up into the air. Roxy grit her teeth and grimaced, bracing herself for the worst.  
  
"Tazoka, no!!" Taka shouted.  
  
She just needed a little more time.  
  
!  
  
Her ears snapped up and she gasped softly. _Got it!_ The energy within her was practically brimming at this point, and she was finally ready. No-one had noticed the grass blowing nearby, despite the utter lack of wind.  
  
Roxy drew in her forelimbs, then let out a loud cry and thrust them outward. She felt the powerful energy draw up from the Earth, use her body as a conduit, and burst outwards all around her. Large, softly glowing tendrils of grass spread out from her hind paws and encircled her, forming an elaborate floral pattern on the ground. Before Tazoka could do more than stumble back a step, she raised her forepaws up. The lengths of grass followed her command and rose up around her, as if the flower had closed into a bud. She held them there, surrounded by a curving, glowing cage of thick grass strands.  
  
Many of the Pokémon surrounding her had gasped in shock when she had first unleashed her Grass Knot, and now they were all staring at her in silence. Tazoka had stumbled a few steps back, and was staring at her in utter confusion. She even saw a bit of disbelief in his eyes. They darted around, taking in the entire construct she had created with the grass, but no words came out of his mouth.  
  
Roxy sighed. She could feel the immense amount of energy she had pulled from the Earth. It had taken quite a bit of time, and she had been secretly drawing the energy since the moment she first stepped in front of Taka, but now her gambit had been successful. Ground-types were weak to only three things. Luckily, one of them happened to be Grass Moves.  
  
While everyone was frozen in shock, she tilted her head back to regard Taka. He was still lying there in the same position, but he wore the same expression that Tazoka had. He was staring up at her, eyes wider than she had ever seen them before, with his mouth hanging open in a perfect 'O' shape. It was the most emotion she had ever seen him show. He looked like he had just seen Arceus itself descending from heaven.  
  
She then turned her attention back to Tazoka, who was starting to recover from his shock, and quickly thrust her forepaws out. She idly noticed that her fur was dimly glowing green. That had never happened before.  
  
Some of the blades of grass separated from the 'bud' and suddenly lashed out towards the Excadrill. His quick reflexes allowed him to deflect one of them, but the others moved too quickly. They wrapped themselves around his forelimbs and held him in place, while a third, rather thick, blade of grass swept along the ground and caught his hind legs from behind. Tazoka let out a cry of surprise as he was knocked off of his paws and landed on the ground in a heap.  
  
Roxy had read that Grass Knot was useful for tripping larger opponents. She had never _dreamed_ she would ever put her own Grass Knot to such use.  
  
Tazoka quickly stood back up, swiftly slicing up the grass into ribbons with his claws. He glared at her, seething quietly. She could tell that he was in pain and trying to hide it. Grass-type Moves were usually executed with the same type of energy that Roxy used for Grass Knot, which allows Pokémon to move plant life. Roxy knew from the encyclopaedia that this energy felt hot and painful to Ground-types, which is why they were weak to Grass-type Moves.  
  
Roxy didn't even give Tazoka a chance to make another move. With a flourish of her forepaws, more blades of grass rose from the ground. They snaked through the air like vines come to life. These ones, she used to snap at Tazoka like a Vine Whip. She grouped a few of them together to make a thick grassy vine and sent it directly towards him. He tried to dodge, but it impacted him in the shoulder and sent him staggering back once more.  
  
After knocking him on his rear end again with another low sweeping strand, she pulled the grass blades back in and reformed the 'bud' around her. Tazoka quickly stood up, and glared daggers at her. She could see the way he was holding his paws to parts of his body where he had been struck. Roxy also knew that the energy of Grass-type Moves weakened the typically thick, rough skin of Ground- and Rock-types.  
  
Tazoka whipped his head around and glared back at his army. "What are you all standing there for?!" he barked, " _Kill her!!_ "  
  
None of them needed to be told twice. At once, they all turned around to fully face her, and adopted intimidating glares. They didn't all charge at once, much to Roxy's gratitude. A couple of them did, however, begin to run towards her at a frightening speed. Others began to follow behind them at a slower pace, but this made them no less frightening.  
  
Roxy froze for a moment as fear and anxiety consumed her whole body, but she shook it off, grit her teeth, and thrust her paws forwards once more. This time, every single blade of grass that was under her control shot forward like a mass of tentacles. She focused on each foe one at a time, lingering on them just long enough to get a blade of grass wrapped around them in some way. This was usually enough to bring them to a stop, or at least to a crawl. There were so many of them, though, and some of them were beginning to get uncomfortably close.  
  
A collection of valiant war cries erupted through the clearing. Roxy witnessed the wonderful sight of every able-bodied Thunder Clan warrior quickly rushing to action. They dashed forward on their speedy paws, zeroing in on those that Roxy had already wrapped in Grass Knots.   
  
She watched a group of three Pikachu converge on the Graveler that she had just attacked. They all began slashing and thrusting with their spears, digging into the Graveler's skin and managing to draw blood. The Graveler was forced to abandon its focus on Roxy and defend itself.  
  
Roxy smiled as this continued with the rest of her foes. The Thunder Clan kept those that she had weakened with her Grass Move occupied, and allowed her to focus on those that were still coming after her. With careful, deliberate movement of her paws, the grassy blades moved to her whims and sought out opponent after opponent. Each strike was like a flurry of living ribbons, wrapping up each Ground-type like a Christmas present.  
  
She panted as she continued her Grass Knot assault. This was ten or twenty times more blades of grass than she had ever had under her control before. This was requiring much more effort and concentration compared to just showing off for her master in the garden. She didn't let it get to her, though. She just kept her focus on the continuous wave of enemies, and did her best to make sure that none reached her.  
  
This was working. This was actually working! Though she wasn't very strong or powerful, the energy from her attacks was weakening the Ground-types enough that the Thunder Clan were able to attack more effectively with their weapons. Slowly, but surely, they were starting to turn the tide of the battle.  
  
Through all of this, Roxy was continually forced to focus on Tazoka. The Excadrill was relentless in his approach. Though the Grass Knot was clearly hurting him, he kept pushing himself towards her with those deadly claws of his. Any Thunder Clan warriors who tried to engage him were easily swept aside, and he was frighteningly fast at cutting up her grass with his claws.  
  
Sweat was running down her neck. This was getting really difficult, but she refused to stop. No matter how hard this was getting, she couldn't back down. If she did, things would just go back to where they had left off before. Taka would be killed and the tribe would be run out of the village.  
  
There was so much going on, though. She had to split her focus among many different foes and all of the various grass blades she was controlling. It was like a difficult puzzle, and it was quickly giving her a terrible headache. Through fleeting glances, she saw that many Earth Tribe warriors had been beaten down into submission, and others were retreating to the sidelines. The Quagsire, in particular, were nowhere to be seen. Grass Moves, after all, were especially volatile against them.  
  
Tazoka, though, was a relentless foe. He was not giving up, no matter how many grass blades she slung at him. Slowly, but ever so surely, he was advancing closer to her. Roxy couldn't move without stopping the Move entirely, and then it would take her a while to get it going again, assuming she even could.  
  
Roxy half growled, half groaned through the intense exertion she was pushing herself through. This was leagues longer than she had ever thought she could maintain a Grass Knot, especially considering that she had never tried one for so long before. The fact that it was working was the only thing giving her the energy to keep going. The Thunder Clan were holding their own once more. Maybe she really could help them to victory!  
  
A vicious claw swipe severed one of the blades of grass forming the 'bud' around her, and she cried out in surprise. She nearly lost her focus, but strained to keep the Move going. Earth Clan members were lying on the ground defeated now, blood leaking from the wounds on their weakened skins. This could be the end. No-one else had to die.  
  
Of course, this all depended on what the one behind that claw swipe would do next. Tazoka was seconds away from skewering her before she rose more blades of grass up from the ground and tied them tightly around his forelimbs. He growled and struggled to free himself.  
  
With a mighty roar, he ripped free of his bonds. "Enough of this!" he bellowed.  
  
Roxy tried to summon even more grass, but she just couldn't do it fast enough.  
  
Before Tazoka could attack her, a pair of brown paws reached under his forelimbs and hooked around his shoulders. They hauled him back out of striking range from Roxy. The Excadrill tried to retaliate against Karizu, but Natoka was too quick for him. The latter Raichu leaned back on his tail and delivered two devastating kicks with his hind paws, reminding Roxy of a Breloom. Tazoka was knocked to the ground, and the two Raichu quickly followed him.  
  
"To your right!"  
  
She quickly heeded the advice that Taka had yelled at her, and sent blades of grass to the right. The charging Sandslash was interrupted, and he cried out in pain as the grass curled around him. A Jolteon was quick to take him out of Roxy's paws.  
  
Roxy then gave Taka a quick glance back and smiled in thanks. Taka hadn't moved a muscle, and was still holding his paws against his wound, but he had a determined look on his face and nodded at her.  
  
She then turned back to look at Tazoka. The two Raichu had delivered a nasty beating to him, and now he was standing apart from them with a defiant look. By this point, a lot of the Earth Clan was now standing behind them, hiding and resting on the sidelines and away from the brawl in the clearing.  
  
"You have seen what we are capable of!" Karizu proclaimed.  
  
Tazoka simply growled at them.  
  
"Our young warrior here," Natoka continued, holding a paw up in Roxy's direction, "can take on your entire tribe without moving from that spot. We know your weakness to the energy of nature, and certainly you are intimately familiar with it."  
  
"She is a weak pet!!" Tazoka spat back, "She will run out of strength before long!"  
  
"Can you really afford to take that risk?" Karizu asked.  
  
Now that the fighting had paused, Roxy had drawn back all of the blades of grass towards her, and they were spread out below her in the flower shape once more. She continued to hold the Grass Knot in place, even as the fighting had stopped. Intimidation was the important thing right now.  
  
At first, Tazoka looked like he was going to say something defiant and charge forward again. Then, however, he turned his head and glanced at the rest of his warriors. They were all hurting. They were weakened from Roxy's Grass-type energy, and injured from weapons that had now found purchase thanks to their weakened skin. Roxy had no doubt that the majority of them would not hesitate to keep on fighting, but the advantage was no longer theirs.  
  
The Thunder Clan held the power right now, and Tazoka knew it.  
  
He growled, indecision written across his face. Now that things had slowed down, it seemed like he was taking notice of his own injuries as well, as if for the first time. How much more of his strength would be sapped away before he would be defeated by the 'pathetic' Thunder Clan? How many more times could Roxy sweep his hind legs out from under him? Running away would be admitting defeat, but staying to fight might end up doing even more damage to his pride.  
  
After a couple of very tense minutes, Tazoka scowling the entire time, the Excadrill finally came to a decision. He raised one of his claws, which caused Roxy to flinch, but then he snapped his claws and pointed into the forest. Without missing a beat, the entire tribe began to retreat.  
  
Tazoka remained standing there as his tribe left the clearing and made their way through the trees and out of Thunder Clan territory. No-one stood in their way. If any of them were grateful or upset, Roxy couldn't tell. They all wore expressionless masks, and moved with military-like precision.  
  
Soon, Tazoka was the only non-Electric-type left in the clearing. He was continuing to glare, immeasurable rage in his expression. Specifically, he was staring at Roxy. If looks could kill, Roxy would be dead on the spot.  
  
She tried to keep her nerves under control and look as threatening as possible. She even raised a few blades of grass up into the air threateningly. Inside, though, she was just desperately hoping that he would leave already.  
  
Finally, Tazoka tore his eyes away from her and took a few steps away. He turned his back on the Thunder Clan without a word and took a grand leap into the air. As he crested through the air, he pulled his claws up above his head and began spinning rapidly, and when he hit the ground he drilled right through it. A tiny noticeable bump under the soil quickly slinked away from the clearing and out of sight.  
  
Roxy immediately let go of the energy within her, and the grass fell back to the ground limply. She let out a huge breath of relief.  
  
A moment later, the whole tribe began to cheer. They raised their paws and their weapons up into the air, yelling with joy and celebrating their victory. It was the happiest that the tribe had ever felt, even more than during the ceremony. A great sense of relief and pride was sweeping its way through the village.  
  
"You did it…!"   
  
Roxy slowly turned her head to regard Taka, sitting on the ground next to her. There was a mix of disbelief and amazement in his eyes.  
  
"You did it! We won! The village is saved!"  
  
Roxy then turned around to face the rest of the tribe. The warriors were all gathered around one another, cheering and hugging each other. The females who had hidden with their cubs came rushing out, children in tow, to join the celebration. Miri was already rushing over so that she could treat Taka's wound.  
  
And so many of them were looking at her. Smiling at her. Cheering for her. She saw so many grateful faces, and heard all their shouts of amazement and congratulation that all blurred together into a wonderful white noise.  
  
A petite little smile graced her lips. She had done it. She had chased off the invaders, she had saved Taka's life, and she had saved the _whole_ village. She had done something that she never, ever would have imagined herself doing before. Now everyone was safe, the battle was over, and she could finally relax.  
  
Roxy promptly fell face-first to the ground and passed out cold.


	19. Waking Up

_Ugh…_  
  
 _Uuuuuughhh…_  
  
Roxy didn't want to wake up. She was just too tired. Must not have gotten enough sleep last night. She felt like a flat lump of pudding, completely incapable of movement. Would staying in bed forever really be that bad?  
  
She was exhausted, she felt weak, and she had a terrible headache. All she wanted was for that blissful sleep to come back to her. She didn't want to wake up. Just five more minutes, or maybe five more hours. Laying down just felt so nice, and she wasn't entirely convinced that her muscles were functioning.  
  
Roxy had to get up, though. Master didn't like it when Roxy was late for breakfast.  
  
After she scrunched up her face in distress and groaned softly, Roxy cracked open one of her eyes. She then immediately decided that the waking world was too bright for her, and that she would rather sleep forever. Then she sighed and called herself ridiculous.  
  
After squinting and blinking her eyes for a bit, the world became visible, but the light still felt harsh. Didn't the bright lights know that she had the worst headache ever? How inconsiderate…  
  
Roxy didn't know where she was. This wasn't her Master's bedroom. Had she fallen asleep in a tree again or something? It certainly wasn't her comfy little Pokémon bed. She slowly tilted her head and tried to see more.  
  
Ow. Ow! Head hurts. Eyes hurt. Body non-functional. Zero energy.  
  
Isn't this what happened to those silly humans on TV when they drank too much "beer"? Could Pokémon even get drunk? Thinking hurt Roxy's brain. Again, Roxy considered the possibility of going back to sleep, but she was already starting to wake up now and so it didn't make sense to stop. She grimaced and then tried to focus her vision on her surroundings.  
  
Grassy walls, and a grassy roof. The inside of a rural hut.  
  
Oh, right.  
  
Roxy finally managed to shake herself out of her half-dreaming state and realize where she was. She was in the same village that she had been trapped in for about four months now. She cynically wondered how she could even remember her real home. Then she sighed, having thoroughly depressed herself.  
  
So now she knew where she was, but she didn't know why she felt like this. _Come on, brain. Remember…stuff._ Everything was still a fog in her head, and she couldn't use Defog because her brain hurt so much. Also, she didn't know it. Also, also, she _couldn't_ know it.  
  
She wanted to sit up or roll over, but she just couldn't. Every muscle in her body felt useless. She moaned louder in discomfort and pain. At least her eyes were fully open now. That was an accomplishment, right?  
  
"You have awakened!"  
  
Roxy grimaced as her ears splayed back. He was speaking in a soft voice, but it still made her head throb like crazy. Groaning some more, she forced her weary muscles to move just a little bit, and she rolled over onto her side so she could see who was talking.  
  
It was Taka. He was sitting on the ground not too far away from her, leaning his back against the hut's wall. There was a stiff but genuine smile on his face. "That is good to see," he continued to speak, "We were beginning to get worried about you. Are you feeling all right?"  
  
Roxy didn't answer. Her eyes had drifted downwards and rested upon Taka's hind leg. It was bandaged up tightly with leaves, and a lightly coloured circle of red had stained them right in the middle. His injured leg…   
  
…Where Tazoka had _stabbed_ him.  
  
Oh heavens. Suddenly, Roxy remembered _everything_.  
  
Her first instinct was to panic, but that only made her head hurt even more. She moaned louder and brought her aching forepaws up and held them against her skull. Forced to remain calm so she did not keep driving that ice pick into her brain, she reflected on the memory of the fight that had just happened. The fight that she had taken part in! Turns out it hadn't been a nightmare.  
  
"Are you well?" Taka was asking, his usual gruff voice a little softer, "Miri should be back soon."  
  
"Taka…?" she spoke, barely above a whisper as it was all she could manage without making her head throb.  
  
"Yes, I am here. You are safe. All is well."  
  
Roxy blinked. Was Taka trying to reassure her? It sounded _weird_ coming from him, she couldn't deny. "Wh'happ'n?" she slurred.  
  
As if on cue, the vines in the doorway parted and Miri stepped in. She gasped quietly when she saw that Roxy was awake, and immediately stepped over to the opposite side of the hut where Roxy couldn't see. A moment later, Miri was suddenly right beside her.  
  
"Eat," Miri instructed, holding a Persim Berry right up to her muzzle.  
  
Roxy whined softly. "But I dun…"  
  
"No arguing," Miri cut her off, "Eat." She gently tapped the berry against Roxy's lips.  
  
The Pikachu grimaced, only partially from her headache. Roxy really hated Persim Berries. They tasted weird and had an unappealing texture. Besides that, though, she didn't feel very hungry. However, Miri was being insistent, and so Roxy gave in and took a bite of the detestable fruit. She cringed a little when she swallowed, only to have Miri insist she take another bite.  
  
"You are very weak," Miri spoke to her in a soft but firm voice, "You lost a ton of energy, and eating this will help bring it back. Once you eat it all, I promise you'll feel good enough to sit up. Okay?"  
  
Roxy wasn't really listening. Every word from the Audino felt like a bullet through the middle of her poor head. She just kept eating the berry in hopes that Miri would go away and let her go back to sleep. It did not taste very good at all, and it did nothing to help her appetite, but she did manage to finish the whole thing. Miri then walked off elsewhere.  
  
The Pikachu lay there for a moment, groaning softly. Taka said something at some point, but Miri apparently told him to shut up. For the present, Roxy just focused on keeping her skull from imploding.  
  
After what felt like an hour but could really have just been a couple of minutes, she felt mobility starting to return to her muscles. The feeling of fatigue started to lift, leaving her feeling a bit restless. With a grumble and a lot of slow movements, Roxy finally pulled herself up into a sitting position. She let out a long breath. The tiredness may have been gone, but all of the pains and aches were still there.  
  
Finally, she slowly turned her head over towards where the other Pikachu was sitting. "…Taka?"  
  
"Yes," he replied with a nod, "I am thankful to see that you have recovered."  
  
She closed her eyes and held a paw to her forehead. "Did we win…?"  
  
First she heard Taka give a short half-chuckle, and then he said, "We did. We won, thanks to you."  
  
Roxy smiled. "Yaaaay…" she murmured lethargically.  
  
Miri returned to view and gave her a smile, though she looked rather strained. "You should be fine in a few hours," she said, "I am needed elsewhere. Yell if you need me." Then she promptly rushed back out the door of her hut.  
  
Taka then continued. "The Earth Tribe has fled from our territory, and no-one has seen them since."  
  
Opening her eyes to look at him once more, Roxy said, "Good…I'm just glad you're all right." Her eyes drifted down towards his wound.  
  
Taka saw this and explained. "Miri has been healing me. I should be able to walk by tomorrow's sunrise. His claws went deep but, well…It could have been so much worse."  
  
Roxy grimaced. Despite it being a victory in their favour, she still found the memories of that battle gruesome and distressing.  
  
"You saved my life," Taka spoke in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, "You saved the lives of so many others here, but it was your bravery that allowed you to stand before me when I had been defeated." He paused and bowed his head slightly. "You have my deepest gratitude."  
  
"I…couldn't just stand there and let you get killed. I had to do _something_ …" she murmured.  
  
"Without you, we never would have defeated our foes," Taka commented, "It is thanks to you that we still have our lives, and we still have a home." He paused once more and looked right into her eyes. "You," he said, "are a hero."  
  
Roxy immediately began to feel flustered and looked away. "Don't be silly…" she muttered, "I'm not a 'hero'."  
  
"I must ask you…"  
  
She turned back to look at him, and saw an expression that she had never seen him wear before. He was looking at her with a sense of reverence. Awe, perhaps. There wasn't a single trace of any of the hatred, malice or prejudice he'd had for her before. "…How?" was all he said.  
  
Roxy blinked and grimaced. Her brain still hurt too much to think. "How what…?"  
  
"How is it possible? How were you able to…to do all of that?? I…There are no other words to describe it. I am baffled. The entire tribe is baffled. All anyone has been talking about is the…impossible things that you did."  
  
"You mean my Grass Knot?"  
  
He studied her for a moment. "Somehow…" he spoke, barely above a whisper, "you were able to call upon the power that is wielded by Pokémon that are not our kind. You summoned the energy that is commanded by those, such as the Nature Tribe."  
  
Roxy presumed that to be a tribe of Grass-types. "Yeah. I dunno what you call it, but to me it's a Move called 'Grass Knot'," she muttered. Her head was still swimming.  
  
"It was incredible…impossible…Even now, I find it hard to believe that what I have seen was true. Please tell me. How could you do that?"  
  
"My master taught me," she replied with a sweet smile.  
  
"Your…master?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
Taka furrowed his brow. "Your… _human_ master?"  
  
She nodded again. Taka didn't say anything after that, and simply turned his gaze away. He looked to be deep in thought about what she had just said, so she decided to elaborate.  
  
"Humans invented these…things called 'Technical Machines', or TM's. They, uh…" She paused and faltered. "Well, I don't really know how they work, to be honest. I didn't really get it. But they, like, contain information or knowledge or something, and it helps Pokémon learn new Moves. My master got the Grass Knot TM as a gift and taught it to me. Suddenly, I knew how to do all of…that."  
  
Taka was looking at her, but still not saying anything.  
  
She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "Gosh, I never expected that I would ever use it to fight…Mostly I would just do it to show off. I had no idea if I would be able to do it well enough, and…I guess luckily I did. They were weak against it, so…"  
  
Taka still wasn't saying anything.  
  
"Taka?" she prodded.  
  
He let out a breath and skewed his lips. "Regardless of anything else," he spoke, "It was this talent of yours that saved this whole village. You did something that… _none_ of us are able to do."  
  
Roxy glanced away bashfully and smiled softly. "Well, I, y'know…I'm just glad…" Something then occurred to her and she looked back at him. "Is… _everyone_ all right?"  
  
Taka's expression became neutral. "Thanks to you, the battle was won with much less bloodshed than what could have been. Only three brave warriors lost their lives."  
  
She felt her heart sink into her stomach and her ears fell. "Wh-what…?"  
  
"They shared a pyre together and have gone to the everafter. We have thanked them for their sacrifice."  
  
Something _else_ occurred to her. "Wait…" she muttered, "How long was I out?"  
  
"We battled as the sun rose, and then you collapsed," Taka replied, "The sun has since set and risen, and is now close to setting once more."  
  
Roxy was shocked to hear this news. That meant she had been unconscious for at least 30 hours! That was certainly a frightening prospect.  
  
However, she was more focused on the awful fact that three warriors had died. In the span of a few waking hours, three Pokémon would never again walk through the village. Had she known any of them? Roxy asked for their names, and Taka provided them. They sounded familiar, but not anyone she had particularly gotten to know.  
  
"Oh heavens…" she murmured with her head downcast, "That's horrible…That's so sad…" She grimaced, trying to fight against the tears. "I'm…s-so sorry…" she said as she felt herself begin to tremble.  
  
"Sorry?" Taka replied, "Sorry for what?"  
  
"I…I don't know…"  
  
"Young one, if you had not defeated the Earth Tribe, they would have slaughtered us. I would have died. Many others would have died. Ozu would have died. Many more of us would have died after fleeing from our home into enemy territory. The loss of life is saddening, yes, but it could have been so much worse." He paused for a moment, and then continued in a softer voice. "I am sure that if you spoke to the families of the deceased, they too would be singing your praises."  
  
Roxy let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right…But still…" She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to focus on the positive. "It's still horrible…Those awful, horrible Ground-types…"  
  
They were both silent for a minute. The deaths of those three Pikachu hit Roxy hard in the pit of her heart, but definitely not as hard as before. She hadn't really known them, and may not have even talked to them before. She knew that she would be okay, but right now she was just feeling the shock of it all.  
  
"Ozu," she spoke after a while, "Why did you mention Ozu specifically? Is he okay?"  
  
Taka neither smiled nor frowned. "He was seriously hurt during the fight, but he is alive. Miri has been treating him. That is where she has run off to."  
  
"Oh," she said with a nod, "Well, that's good. I hope he'll get better soon."  
  
Taka paused for almost a full minute before he spoke again. "Did your human _really_ teach you those impossible techniques?"  
  
Roxy blinked once, then nodded and said, "She did."  
  
"That is… _very_ interesting."  
  
That was as far as their conversation got before Miri suddenly returned. Roxy could tell that Miri was working really hard and probably treating more patients than just herself, Taka and Ozu. She had no time for formalities. From somewhere nearby, she fished out a pair of Oran Berries and handed them to Roxy.  
  
"Do you feel better?" she asked as she indicated for Roxy to eat.  
  
Luckily, Roxy's appetite was beginning to return and she didn't hesitate to bite into the fruit. Since her mouth was full, she nodded in reply.  
  
"Good," Miri said with a strained smile, "Eat those, and then come take a walk with me outside. The fresh air should help, and you should move your muscles."  
  
Roxy swallowed her mouthful and then said, "Okay." Taka and Miri then allowed her to eat the two berries without bothering her with conversation. Roxy suddenly realized that she hadn't eaten in a whole day, and was quite relieved when she satisfied that hunger.  
  
Finally, Miri stepped over and helped her get up. She was a little woozy on her feet, so she was thankful for being able to lean on Miri's side. The Audino helped her over to the door, where they both paused. Roxy turned and looked back at Taka, still seated in the same spot. The village obviously didn't have crutches or wheelchairs, so Taka was stuck in Miri's hut until his leg healed.  
  
"I'm glad you're safe," she said to him, "I…I don't think I could've handled it if you died-" Her voice caught in her throat for a moment before she could choke out the last word. "…too."  
  
"Thanks to you, I merely lack mobility for a few days," he replied with a nod, "I will find a way to repay you for your bravery, I promise." Then, with a small but genuine smile, he added, "Thank you."  
  
She smiled back at him.   
  
"We will talk later, okay?"  
  
"Okay," she replied.  
  
Then, Miri was helping her out the door and into the slightly chilly air outside. By this point, Roxy felt okay enough to walk on her own, but she stayed near Miri just to be safe. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this tired and weak, if ever.  
  
It wasn't long before the other villagers were alerted to her presence. It was only thanks to Miri that she didn't get completely swarmed. Everyone nearby who had seen her had immediately run over, and the commotion had drawn out further villagers until nearly the whole village was around her.  
  
They were all smiling and cheering, each one giving her praise. Many called her a hero, some all but demanded to know how she had performed her Grass Knot, but almost all of them at least gave her their thanks.   
  
At first, she tried her best to be modest. All of this attention at once was not something she found particularly enjoyable. Multiple times she tried to claim that she was not a hero, but her protests were always drowned out.   
  
Eventually, though, she began to focus instead on the smiling faces of those around her. Maybe she wasn't a hero, but she was responsible for what she was seeing. It slowly became real to her that if she hadn't done what she had done, none of these smiling faces would be here. It was something to be proud of, which made her smile as well.  
  
It was also something to be thankful for, which made her smile even more.  
  
It finally dawned on her that she had managed to reach a happy ending. Her story was still being told, but this smaller book in her history had come to a close with a bright finish. It was something, at last, to feel truly happy about, and everyone else seemed well aware of this fact. She was hugged more times that she could count, and soon all of the praise and thanks melded together until it was just happy cheers.  
  
"Gather together everyone! Give a cheer for Roxy!"  
  
" _Hooray!!_ "  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The sun had almost set, and Roxy had returned to Makari's hut. Even though she had spent most of the day sleeping, she still felt exhausted. Speaking figuratively, it had been a very long day. Now that everything was done, she just wanted to lay down in the hut and go to sleep.  
  
Makari's hut. The hut that still stood, and was still there for her. In the village that was still there, with all of her friends whom were still there. Thank the heavens. She shivered when she thought about what could have happened instead.  
  
For the moment, she sat down just outside the doorway of the hut. She found herself gazing up at the sky, seeing the first few stars twinkle into view as the sun disappeared. Everything felt so calm and safe, more than things had felt in a long time.   
  
Everyone was happy and content. She had briefly explained the origin of her Grass Knot to Karizu and Natoka, and promised to go into more detail later. Some of the cubs had begged her to show it off again, but Miri had insisted that she not exert herself. She had also gone to see Ozu, who was resting weakly but with a smile in his own hut, as well as the families of the Pikachu who had died. Even they were smiling, relieved that things had not gotten any worse.  
  
"Did you see me, Makari…?"   
  
Roxy's whisper caught on the gentle breeze. She stared up at the sky, wondering if one of those particularly bright stars was looking down on her, listening to her words.  
  
"Did I do good?" she continued, "Are you…proud of me?"  
  
She wished more than anything that she could hear a reply, but she did not.  
  
"I wish you were here…I wish you had been there." She sighed. "I'm just glad Taka's safe," she muttered in a melancholy tone, "I wish you had been in that battle…so I could've saved you too…"  
  
"He would have been _very_ proud."   
  
Roxy nearly fell over. She turned her head in surprise towards the source of the voice. "Taka…"  
  
The warrior was slowly walking towards her, a noticeable limp in his step. He still wore the bandages around his thigh.   
  
"Taka, what're you doing up?"  
  
He came to a stop on the opposite side of the door, where he sat down on the ground. "Miri let me go so long as I promised to check back tomorrow morning."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
She glanced over at him, wondering if he had just come to talk, but found that the other Pikachu was simply gazing up at the darkening sky. After a moment of silence, she followed his gaze.  
  
"He was right about you."  
  
Roxy's ear twitched and she turned to look at him again. "Huh?"  
  
"My brother," he said as he turned to look back at her, "He told me, many moons ago, that there was something special about you. I can see now that he was right."  
  
"He…did?" Roxy muttered, feeling a mix of emotions rush through her.  
  
"You are still so unlike us. You are very different from anyone else in this tribe. In some ways, that is a weakness, but it is clearly also your strength." Taka sighed and shook his head a little. "I must apologize, young one."  
  
She blinked. "For what?'  
  
Taka glanced away in silence for a moment before he answered. "I have…treated you wrong, and regarded you poorly, because you associate with humans."  
  
Roxy chuckled. "That's, uh, nothing new. It's okay, really…"  
  
Taka shook his head more vigorously. "No, it is not okay. Humans…" He paused and considered something. "Or rather, _your_ human…your master…has given you a strength that I could not have ever imagined. I had considered you weak because of your affection and longing for your master, but…clearly I was wrong."  
  
Thoughts of her master came flooding back, bringing on a heavy wave of homesickness. Roxy bit back the bitter tears. "It's okay, Taka," she answered, "I forgive you. It didn't really bother me that much."  
  
Taka was still glancing away, a troubled look on his face.  
  
"Taka?" she spoke, "You don't seem very happy that I forgave you…"  
  
"I do appreciate your forgiveness," he replied, "It is just…difficult for me."  
  
Roxy tilted her head, not quite understanding.  
  
"It matters not," Taka said, "In a way, your human friend is also partly responsible for the salvation of our tribe, so we all owe her our thanks as well."  
  
While these were nice words to hear, Roxy's lips were still skewed. "Taka?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Why do you hate humans?"  
  
That struck a chord of silence between the two of them. Taka didn't answer right away, but Roxy didn't push him.  
  
He looked over at her with cold, hardened eyes. It was the gaze she was used to seeing from him. Taka had become decidedly more amicable recently, but underneath there was still a very cold heart beating in his chest. Sometimes, it made her shiver to remember.  
  
"…Please?" she asked. A couple of silent minutes passed by, and it seemed like he wasn't going to answer at all. Roxy sighed quietly and glanced away.  
  
"I left our village because I wanted to see what lay beyond the forest."  
  
She looked at him once more, giving him her full attention.  
  
"I detested what I found."  
  
Her heart sank. "Oh…"  
  
"When I turned around and began the journey home, I promised myself that I would never return to that world or have anything to do with it ever again." He gave her a glance. "Unfortunately, you fell into that distinction."  
  
That hurt a little, but Roxy knew that it was in the past now. "So, did you just end up in, like, a bad city? Or did you just not like, uh, y'know…modern stuff? Or…Did something happen?"  
  
He didn't answer, but his silence told Roxy which answer was more likely to be true.  
  
Unfortunately, she also got the feeling that he wouldn't want to talk about it any further.  
  
"I recognize now that I misjudged you, and…perhaps your master as well," he spoke, "But I cannot claim that my distrust of humans has gone."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "No, of course not," she replied empathetically, "And, y'know…I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that there aren't some really bad humans out there…"  
  
"That is true, logically," Taka replied.  
  
The two fell into silence for a few minutes, having reached an impasse in the conversation.  
  
"Please tell me about your grass power," Taka asked, breaking the silence.  
  
Roxy half-heartedly chuckled. "Everyone's been asking me that all day. I-"  
  
"Could you teach it?"  
  
She gave him a look. "Teach…my Grass Knot?"  
  
Taka nodded.  
  
"I dunno," Roxy frowned, "I'm not even sure how _I_ learned it. It was all the TM. I don't think Pokémon learn TM Moves without…the, um, the TM."   
  
Taka scowled a little. "So, it is a secret of the humans then…"  
  
"…Maybe?" Roxy answered with a Mareepish shrug.  
  
"Can you not explain it?"  
  
She skewed her lips. "Kinda…It's like…Well, there's this energy. I know from reading books that Grass-type Pokémon-" At Taka's look, she clarified, "Pokémon like Snivy and, um…Pansage, they can control the energy. They use it to move plant life. As far as I know, it's not perceptible to other Pokémon types, or at least not to Pokémon that can't learn a Grass-type Move naturally."  
  
Taka did not have a very comprehending look on his face, so Roxy backpedaled. "Pokémon like us, like Pikachu, can't feel this energy…but after the TM, I could. I know it's there now, and I know how to focus so I can grab onto it. It's still really difficult for me, and I have to focus for quite a while just to connect to the energy. It's hard enough to perform, and it's hard enough to explain, I don't think I'd ever be able to _teach_ someone…"  
  
"…I see," Taka said, letting his gaze drift away, "That is disappointing to hear."  
  
Roxy slumped a little. "Sorry…"  
  
Taka sighed. "It is not your fault." Then, shaking his head, he sat up straighter. "The important thing is that _you_ can perform this skill."  
  
"Heh…I guess…"  
  
"You are very unique," he continued, "You do not possess the skills that are intrinsic to a Pikachu. You were not born with the same abilities as we all were…but you do have a strength. A fantastic, almost magical skill, and I would be remiss if I did not recognize this."  
  
She smiled softly. "Well, thank you."  
  
"You have my respect, Roxy…I am sorry I could not give it earlier."  
  
Roxy then stared at the other Pikachu for a long while, and eventually Taka gave her an odd look in response. When she saw this, she smiled and shook her head. "Taka, I think that might be the first time you've ever called me by my name that I can remember."  
  
Taka smirked, but said nothing.  
  
"Well, thanks Taka. I, uh…I hope…" She fell silent for a moment, gazing up at the stars that were starting to appear. "I hope we can be friends now."  
  
After a pause, Taka gave a simple reply. "Perhaps…"  
  
Taka then began to stand back up, grunting a little from his injury. Roxy immediately hopped over to his side and began to help him up. At first he resisted, as if he wanted to show he could get up on his own, but it didn't last long. Once he was standing, Roxy gazed down at his bandaged wound. It still made her shiver a little when she recalled what had caused it.  
  
"Karizu wanted me to tell you," Taka spoke, "that he has called for a Marking Ceremony tomorrow night. There will be a festival as well, and you are of course welcome to come."  
  
"Oh, really?" she replied, "Cool! Yeah, I'll be there." She then gave him a little nudge. "Are you maybe gonna get a new green stripe?"  
  
Taka gave her an unamused glance. "No," he replied blatantly, "I fell in battle."  
  
"…Oh. Um…" Roxy glanced away and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling completely awkward. Obviously he wouldn't be receiving any awards. "S-sorry…"  
  
He shook his head. "Yesterday was a loss. A loss is simply a lesson to be learned, and the doorway to further victories." He gave her a confident gaze. "There may be more marks for me, but they shall be in the future. Time will show."  
  
"Right. Yeah. I guess that's a good way to look at it…" Roxy scuffed her paws a little, thankful that he wasn't taking her faux pas too seriously.   
  
Taka nodded. "I must rest. I shall return to my hut now.  I bid you goodnight, Roxy."  
  
Roxy looked at him for a moment, and didn't immediately respond. "Taka…?" she finally spoke up.  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"…Will you promise to tell me more one day? About…what happened out there?"  
  
Taka closed his eyes. "I will not promise anything," he replied, "but…perhaps." Then, with a friendly nod farewell, Taka turned and slowly limped his way back to his hut. Roxy stood there and watched him go, wondering if she should've been helping him walk. She reasoned that he probably didn't want to be coddled, and there was probably something about getting stronger through pain or something too.  
  
Roxy turned her gaze up to the moon that had now appeared in the sky above the trees.  
  
"A festival tomorrow, hm…?"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The next day was wonderful. It was quite warm for the time of year, the sun had broken through the clouds as much as it could, and everyone was feeling rather upbeat. There was a happy sensation that seemed to permeate through the village, infecting everyone it touched. The bloody memories of the battle with the Earth Tribe seemed faded and distant.  
  
Everyone was working, getting ready for the festival if they were not on patrol. In between all of this, many of them still wanted to talk to Roxy about her amazing new powers. This turned out to be a little difficult, however.  
  
Roxy was out and about. She was on the move with a purpose in mind.  
  
Others occasionally caught her moving through the village, or just before she entered her hut. They would see her carrying some things, but most were too focused on her Grass Knot to ask what she was up to. Roxy held polite conversations where she could, but she mostly kept inside of her hut.  
  
By midday, Taka was back on his paws. The bandage had been removed and the wound had been healed. This was accompanied by a very exhausted Miri who was content to just take a nap before the Festival arrived, but she was happy that her patient was healed.   
  
Roxy had caught him in passing and had made him promise not to look into her hut until the Festival. Taka was rightfully confused, but agreed.  
  
Finally, the day began to wind down. Once the light of the sun began to disappear, the torches were lit to signal that the festivities were not far off. Everyone began to gather in the central clearing,  and there was a big cheer once the bonfire was lit. It wasn't long before everyone who wasn't on patrol had gathered there.  
  
Roxy watched this, or as much as she could from the doorway of her hut. A thought occurred to her as she realized that she was now calling it 'her hut', instead of 'Makari's old hut'. She sighed softly. Technically it _was_ her hut, since the wise ones had given it to her, but it still made her feel a touch wistful.  
  
She felt nervous, though she didn't know why. She had been to one of these festivals before, and she both knew and trusted all of these Pokémon. She had been working through the day, making sure things were just perfect. She wasn't sure where the whim had come from, and now she was wondering if she should have followed it or not.  
  
"Stop being silly," she said to herself under her breath, "You just fought off an army of Ground-types. This is nothing."  
  
With a slow, calming breath, she stepped out of the hut and began to walk towards the party. She put on a sweet smile, carried her head and her tail up high, and walked with slow and graceful paw-steps.  
  
Just like master had taught her.  
  
Though the ceremony hadn't begun yet, the Thunder Clan members were already dancing wildly to the music of the drums. It seemed that spirits were higher this time around, and Roxy knew the reason why. They were all moving and swinging about in their wild, unchained ways.  
  
Roxy approached the group, still with a smile on her face, and everyone stopped and stared at her. She felt a twinge of anxiety, a sudden spike of stage fright, but she fought it off. Instead, she simply moved herself forward into the crowd and sat down on the ground.  
  
"Roxy…" one of them spoke up. She turned to look and saw that it was her old friend Bamaka. He was looking at her as if trying and failing to decide what to say.   
  
"Greetings, Bamaka," she said with a bow of her head, "And hello to you all as well. Thank you so much for inviting me to the festivities."  
  
Some of them smiled and nodded back, but a few were giving each other looks.  
  
"Ah, Taka!" she spoke up, picking him out of the crowd, "How lovely to see you here."  
  
Taka stepped forward, giving her a dubious expression that showed off his classic uncensored self. "Roxy, what…What is all of this…?" he asked, gesturing to her.  
  
Roxy glanced back with a smile. The flower behind her ear was gone, sitting safely back at the hut. Instead, tied around one of her ears was a long green ribbon. It was done up in a large bow, with two long flowing strands hanging down her back. Roxy had carefully crafted the ribbon out of leaves, and it had taken her quite a while to get them just right. Tied around the base of her tail was another, smaller bow with the same ribbon.  
  
She smiled shyly, standing up on her hind paws and twiddling her forepaws. "Well, uh…" she murmured, feeling just a little silly, "You've all welcomed me here…and you showed me your ways and your customs." She indicated the ribbon on her ear. "I thought, maybe tonight, I would show you all a little of my world."  
  
That gained her a few understanding nods from her audience. Most still looked rather curious, though. "Oh, I see…" Taka said, studying her adornments with a somewhat critical eye.  
  
"It looks very nice," Karizu commented as he suddenly strode up next to Taka.  
  
"Thanks," Roxy said with a little grin.  
  
"It is different, but in my opinion it is rather appealing," he added.  
  
"Is this what Pokémon pets wear?" Taka asked. Roxy noticed that in this case, he didn't spit 'pet' like it was a curse word.  
  
"Ah heheh…" she glanced away, flushing just a little in embarrassment, "No, not really. This is how we dress up…when we want to look, um…pretty." She sighed wistfully. "This is what I wore to my master's graduation…"  
  
"Interesting," Karizu commented, "Thank you for sharing with us."  
  
"Do humans really make these…?" Miri asked from the side.  
  
"Well, they don't make them out of leaves," she clarified, "I had to improvise. I think ribbons are made out of cloth, or some kind of thread. They're human manufactured in any case."  
  
Everyone began to comment on her ribbons, and most of the Pokémon there seemed to like them. A few even mentioned that they might try making some on their own. Taka never gave her more than a raised eyebrow, but she didn't take offense. She figured that his prejudice against pets ran deep and wouldn't just go away overnight.  
  
Soon, Roxy was smiling brightly. It was the biggest smile she had worn in many days. This had started out as a random idea to show off some of her own culture, but now she found she was enjoying herself. The reason was fairly simple.  
  
She felt pretty.   
  
Roxy had made the ribbons with a lot of care, and tied them up just like her master used to do. She had also bathed in the river and spent a good hour trying to comb her fur down with just her paws, all in an effort to make herself presentable. She felt clean and pretty. She felt like she was her old, cute self once more. It made her feel good inside, and it clearly showed on the outside.  
  
Before long, the drummers played their final number and everybody was seated. Roxy found a log and sat down upon it neatly, sitting up straight and pretending she was on one of those Pokémon Contests. She was dressed to impress after all, and she giggled a little at the thought.  
  
Karizu and Natoka both stepped up to the head of the crowd, standing before the drummers and the bonfire. Roxy noticed with dismay that Ozu was still absent, and she hoped that he would get better soon.  
  
"Brethren of the Thunder Clan…" Karizu spoke once the crowd had fallen silent, "Welcome everyone! Today is a wondrous, glorious day. Only a couple short days ago, our very way of life was threatened. The odds were against us, but not a single one backed down without a fight. The heavens shone upon us brightly that day, my friends, and the battle was won!"  
  
A humongous cheer roared through the audience.  
  
"So many of you displayed courage, bravery and determination in the face of almost certain defeat, and we have gathered here to honour you."  
  
There was another cheer. Roxy joined in wholeheartedly.  
  
"As these are slightly different circumstances," Natoka then went on to say, "We will simply call out your name, then you will come to the stage to have a new mark bestowed upon you."  
  
From there, the ceremony began. One by one, the wise ones called out the name of someone in the tribe. They would make their way to the stage amidst applause and cheering, where Kaziru would congratulate them and spoke the oral rite that was spoken before all of the previous recipients. Natoka would then dip his paw in the green substance and apply their new mark.  
  
This time, Karizu also explained out loud what each mark was for, which was probably because the ceremony was impromptu. It made the ceremony that much more interesting to watch. She was always sure to give a loud cheer whenever the new mark was complete.  
  
The ceremony went on for hours, and it seemed like almost every single member of the tribe was getting a new mark of some kind. At some point, Karizu and Natoka even granted new marks to each other, which was interesting to watch. They even promised the crowd that Ozu would receive a new mark once he was on his paws.  
  
When it seemed like the ceremony was finally wearing down, Roxy had to guess that it was pretty close to midnight. Food had been passed around while the long ceremony took place, so she wasn't hungry, and she hadn't gotten tired because she didn't want to fall asleep again like last time.   
  
As she sat there, watching the last few Pikachu receive a new mark, a soft sigh escaped her lips. It was a wonderful ceremony, just as engaging to watch as the last few, and it felt so good watching these brave warriors get recognition for their accomplishments.  
  
It wasn't the same, though, without Makari. She had no-one to lean her head against.  
  
Karizu stepped forward and faced the crowd. He waited until the Pikachu that had just gone up was seated once more, and a hush fell over the crowd. It seemed like that Pikachu had been the last one, and the ceremony would wrap up. It was getting really late, but Roxy felt like she still had enough energy to dance for a bit.  
  
"My friends," Karizu spoke, "My brethren…You should feel proud of the new marks you wear on your fur. We have been tested in a way that we have not been tested before, but we all worked together to come out on top. If not for the combined teamwork of this entire tribe, victory would have been but a faint dream."  
  
Roxy smiled and nodded softly, silently agreeing with him. It had been a really frightening battle, but it was teamwork in the end that had earned them success.  
  
"…We have one more mark to bestow."  
  
Roxy's eyebrows raised a little. She had thought the ceremony was over, but apparently there was still one more Thunder Clan member left. While she didn't know _everyone_ in the tribe personally, she was finding it hard to think of anyone who hadn't gone up yet. Who was left?  
  
"Roxy."  
  
What?  
  
Why was he looking at her?  
  
 _What?_  
  
Karizu extended his paw in her direction, inviting her to stand up and join him. Roxy just sat there frozen in place for a moment with a confused look on her face, which changed to one of nervousness when she saw that _everybody was looking at her_.  
  
"Uhh…Wh-what…?"  
  
The Raichu was still beckoning her, and he had the most encouraging smile. He was serious. This wasn't a prank.   
  
"…Really?" she murmured, probably not even loud enough for Karizu to hear.  
  
A few of the Pokémon around her began gesturing towards Karizu with their paws, urging her to go. A few of them said some encouraging words. Roxy glanced around, but she couldn't see a single villager who was upset by this. Everyone seemed to be on board.  
  
"Come, Roxy," Miri said, patting her on the back and causing her to jump in surprise. She hadn't even noticed the Audino's approach. With a nod and a smile from Miri, Roxy stood up on her hind paws. She slowly but surely made her way up to the Raichu standing there waiting for her.  
  
Everyone was still looking. They were all staring at her. She could tell even though she could only see Karizu. She was now centre stage, the main attraction, and all eyes were on her. They could see her stupid bows. _Why did you put on the stupid bows?!_  
  
"Roxy," Karizu said, snapping Roxy out of her mild panic.  
  
"Ah! Um…y-yeah?" she asked, then mentally face-pawed. _That's a real formal word, "yeah"…_  
  
"You have been with us for more than three moons, soon to be four. In that time, we have all gotten to know you, and consider you a part of this family." He gestured with his paw to the assembled crowd. "We know that you are different, and that you come from a different world. Things are not the same where you come from.  
  
"Two days ago, however, none of that mattered. At a time where no-one expected anything from you, and no-one would have blamed you for doing nothing, you stood up against the _leader_ of the Earth Tribe. Many of us agree that this is one of the bravest things any of us have ever seen."  
  
Roxy was blushing furiously from the praise. She smiled nervously and tried to think of something to say, but came up empty.  
  
"You are different," Karizu continued, "You come from a different world. Yet, you have become a part of us. You have leant to this tribe a powerful skill that is yours and yours alone, and we are eternally thankful for what you have done."  
  
He then closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly. "For your contributions to our tribe, and harmony with our brethren…" There was a slight pause. "Though these may not be your customs, and though…though we know that you do not intend to stay with us forever…"  
  
Roxy's smile faltered a little, but she didn't interrupt him. It was the truth after all.  
  
"…we would like to bestow upon you, these _two_ marks."  
  
Her eyes shot open wide. She had figured that they wanted to give her her very own mark, but to actually hear it being said was still a shock. It was something she had not expected, nor something she had even considered before. In a lot of ways she was still an outsider, and they wanted to give her one of their special marks that belonged only on the fur of Thunder Clan members?  
  
And they were going to give her _two_!! In every past ceremony, Roxy had only ever seen recipients receive a single mark. The reaction of some villagers in the crowd confirmed to her that this was something highly unusual.  
  
Karizu was looking at her. She was supposed to say something now, right? Roxy hesitated for a moment, though. She wanted to ask him, 'Really?' She wanted to ask, 'Are you sure? Do you really want to give one to _me_?' Plus, she wanted to speak up and yet again claim that she wasn't a hero. It still made her squirm in embarrassment when someone called her a hero.  
  
After a moment of silence, though, Roxy smiled. "I…accept," she said. When Karizu then nodded and stepped to the side to reveal Natoka with the bowl of paint, Roxy got Butterfree in her stomach. This was really happening, and it was happening to her. She had never really thought about wanting a mark before, but now she found herself both nervous and really excited. It was as if something in her mind had finally clicked and she knew that this was an honour to receive. An honour they were giving to her. _Her!_  
  
Natoka sat down quite close to her, which would have been really uncomfortable if Roxy hadn't known the reason. He dipped one of his paws into the bowl of naturally-made body paint. She could still smell the berries that it was made from.   
  
Once his paw was no longer dripping, he then faced her. "This," he spoke to both her and to the crowd, "is the mark of a special skill. Something unique you can do that no other can."  
  
Roxy grinned and nodded demurely. There was no question as to what he was referring to.  
  
The Raichu indicated for Roxy to raise her right forepaw up, and she had a brief moment of panic that she would get ticklish and ruin the design. Natoka was careful, though, and very gently pressed his paw into the fur just above her hips. It hurt her neck to watch him while he worked, so she simply focused on the crowd and all of the smiling faces out there. She saw Miri, Bamaka, Baza, and Adi, Kiga and their son. Suddenly that stage fright didn't seem to be there anymore. These were all Pokémon she knew now. Pokémon she trusted. They were all happy that she was receiving this, with not a single objection.  
  
Natoka finished much faster than Roxy would have expected. When he stepped back, Roxy twisted her body a little so that she could look down at herself. She gasped when she saw it. Now emblazoned on her fur was a green stripe that curved around from her back to her front, ending at a point just to the side of her tummy. It reminded her of an Arcanine stripe. It was quite large, much like the marks on others' abdomens. It would be easily visible from a distance, but no so garish as to make her easier to spot if she were trying to hide.  
  
It was incredible. It was just paint on her fur, but it was incredible. Her very own mark, and she had earned it with her Grass Knot skills. This wasn't some meaningless little gift to make her fit in. She had earned this.  
  
"Wow…" she whispered.  
  
No-one in the audience was applauding, and at first Roxy was confused. Then, however, she noticed Natoka dipping his paw into the bowl once more. She remembered that she was still going to get another one!  
  
"And this," Natoka spoke, "represents courage, bravery and selflessness in the face of not only certain death, but crushing fear." He paused for a moment before continuing. "None of us can know what it was like to cast everything aside and stand up against Tazoka like that. We can only imagine."  
  
A thousand emotions were running through her mind, so she simply nodded.  
  
Natoka then took hold of her left paw, on the opposite side of her body from her other mark. About halfway down the limb, just above the joint, he began to paint her second mark. This time, she could watch him as he worked. Again, she marvelled at the way his paw moved so deliberately, showing a great amount of artistic skill and yet not needing ages to make it perfect. With a flourish of his paw, he was able to draw the paint into a single point, as if the edges had been drawn with a pen.  
  
In no time at all, he stepped back and her mark was finished. Roxy held up her paw and gazed down at it in wonder. She had been given a green 'band' of paint that went all the way around the limb. On the front facing side, though, the two ends came together as a pair of interlocking but unconnected 'hooks'. It sort of resembled the yin yang symbol.  
  
Natoka then stepped back and washed his paws in the bowl of water. It was done. Roxy now had two marks. After giving the one on her forelimb a good look, she dropped her paws down to her side. She ended up accidentally brushing against the mark on her left, but found that the paint on her fur was already dry.  
  
It was then that the crowd burst into applause and cheers. Roxy turned to face them fully, a smile reaching from cheek to cheek. She felt pride welling within her, as if her accomplishments had suddenly become real. All of these Pokémon were happy for her. They were cheering for her. There was no-one out there to be afraid of. No-one to be uncomfortable around.   
  
She glanced down once more at the green marks on her body, just to see if they were real. The applause was continuing, and so she raised her head up again. They looked really excited for her, maybe even proud of her. She even saw Taka, sitting somewhere near the back. He wasn't smiling, as per usual with him, but he was clapping his paws right along with everyone else.  
  
Roxy choked up and almost began to cry.  
  
Concerned, Karizu stepped up and put a paw on her back. "Roxy?" he asked quietly, "Is something wrong?"  
  
She sniffled and wiped away the couple of tears in her eyes. "Sorry," she murmured, "I'm sorry. I-It's fine." Roxy glanced up and gave a wave to the crowd. "Thank you," she said to them, "Thank you all so much. I…I don't know what to say…"  
  
"There is no need to say anything, Roxy," Karizu said to her with a smile, "New marks speak for themselves."  
  
She laughed softly, a smile returning to her face. When Karizu gestured, she walked back down to her place in the crowd. Many of the villagers she passed gave her a pat on the back.  
  
"With that," Karizu announced, "the ceremony is concluded. The night is late, but if you still have the energy, your company is most welcome!"  
  
The drummers started to play an upbeat song not a moment later. Many of the villagers began to dance, though a few tiredly walked off. Roxy found herself so full of positive energy that she needed no coercing to dance. It was as if all of her inhibitions had vanished. Roxy began to dance like she had never danced before.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
After three songs, Roxy took a break. She was sitting on a log, watching everyone else dance the night away.   
  
Or rather, that's what she had been doing before getting distracted by the green paint on her forelimb. Yet again, she was staring at it and trying to convince herself that it was actually there. Just a few short months ago, she had been freaking out about being separated from the life she knew and all of the comforts that came with it. Now, she was a bona fide member of a wild Pokémon tribe, and had the look to prove it.  
  
"Congratulations."  
  
Roxy almost fell right off the log. She caught her balance and then shot the Pikachu a look. "Good heavens, Taka! Do you just not make noise? Is that _your_ special power?"  
  
Taka chuckled without smiling. That alone nearly made her roll her eyes. "I do mean it, though," Taka went on to say, "You have my congratulations. No-one has ever received two marks at once before."  
  
She could already feel the embarrassed blush coming back. The high of the ceremony was beginning to wear off. "S'just 'cus I had none…" she murmured.  
  
Taka then stepped over the log and sat down next to her. Roxy hadn't quite expected that, but she didn't really mind. The days were long gone from when she had found Taka unpleasant to be in the company of. Her show of skill, and the revelation that it was all thanks to her master, had earned his approval. In some ways, that may have been a little petty, but Roxy was just glad they were approaching something that might be called 'friendship'.  
  
"Why were there tears?"  
  
Roxy glanced up at him, frowning at his question. "I, uh…" she stammered softly. Taka was looking at her, awaiting an answer, so she sighed and gave one.  
  
"It…just all became so real when I was standing up there. I had won a fight. I was being called a _hero_. I was being invited to stand in front of everybody in the tribe to receive…" She held out one of her forelimbs. "…these. It was such an honour. I was just so happy and proud of myself and…" She sniffled a little. "…and Makari wasn't there to see me."  
  
She then hung her head. "It's just not fair. I mean…Look at all the things I've done. Things I never thought I would be able to do. I fought an Excadrill! I've never even fought before! Makari, he…he was taken away…before he could see. My accomplishments. Everything that he saw in me that I didn't believe was possible." Roxy closed her eyes. "I just wanted to see his proud smile…"  
  
"You know he was watching you," Taka replied, "You have said it yourself in the past."  
  
"I know…" she murmured, "But it's…different…"  
  
"He was watching you while you fought, giving you strength."  
  
"I wanted to hug him…I wanted to tell him how far I'd come…"  
  
There was silence between the two of them for a moment, so Roxy opened her eyes and glanced over to him. Taka had his own eyes closed, and looked like he was deep in thought.  
  
"But, I know," she said to him, "I know that I didn't need to cry. I told myself that up there, and I shook it off. This is a time to be happy. It's a time to be proud, and…" She gazed downwards for a moment. "I still can't believe this green paint is on me…"  
  
"It suits you."  
  
She gave him an odd look. "What…?"  
  
"In a way."  
  
The two lapsed into silence once more. Roxy sat there and idly pawed at the ribbon hanging from her ear. The slowly dwindling group of villagers continued to dance before the magnificent bonfire.  
  
"For what it's worth," she said at last, breaking the silence, "I think you should've gotten a mark."  
  
"I already told you-" he started to say.  
  
"That's baloney, though," she interjected, "Before you were knocked down, you were the one who…y'know, led the charge. It looked like the tribe as a whole didn't know what to do when the invasion came, but you stepped forward and you stood your ground."  
  
"…"  
  
"Even with their best efforts, not everyone can win…"  
  
He still didn't respond, and it looked like she wasn't going to get much more conversation out of him. Roxy sat there for a while with the enigmatic Pikachu. There was still so much about him that she didn't know, and that he wouldn't tell. After a while, she decided to leave him be and get in a few more dances before bedtime.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Roxy paused and turned back to look at him. "Hm?"  
  
"Will you be in the training area tomorrow?"  
  
She blinked and furrowed her brow. "Uhh…I guess so?" She hadn't exactly been planning on it, but before the Earth Tribe raid she had previously been visiting the training area once a day. Now that the mayhem was over, she supposed it was time to get back to doing it again. She had no idea if it was doing her any good in a physical or technical sense, but it was still quite therapeutic for her.  
  
"Good," Taka replied, and then gave her an inquiring look.  
  
"Why?" Roxy asked with a tilt of her head.  
  
"Would you mind if I joined you?"  
  
Her eyes widened a fraction. "Wha…? You mean-?"  
  
"Not like before. I promise."  
  
"…Oh."   
  
Taka shrugged and gave her a bit of a half smile. "I hear that you have been training there on your own. That is certainly commendable, wanting to improve your skills and such. I do believe, however, that it would be much more beneficial if you had…someone experienced on your side."  
  
"You want to teach me again…?" she asked with a frown.  
  
"'Teach' is a poor choice of word," he replied, "How about 'train'? You have potential in you, Roxy. It just needs to find a way to come out." He paused for a moment before adding, "I believe…my brother was right about you in that way."  
  
"Really…?" Roxy muttered. She gave him an unsure look. Taka really was starting to see her in a different light after all. She had been practicing in the training area mostly to take her mind off of more depressing matters, but maybe Taka could actually help her this time. If he had this new respect for her, maybe she could actually learn how to fight from him. And then, maybe…  
  
"Sure," she said with a pleasant smile, "I'll see you there."  
  
Taka gave her a nod, and then she happily turned around and returned to the dance floor. There was no doubt about it. This was definitely the second-best day she had ever had in this damned forest.


	20. Everything Changes

"Left! Right! Right again! Dodge!"  
  
Roxy was sweating bullets while she did her best to adhere to Taka's directions. She held the spear tightly in her paws, keeping it always at the ready so she could fend off anything that came her way. She blocked, slashed and dodged away from the imaginary enemies called out by Taka.  
  
"End!"  
  
She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. That had been tough, to be sure, but Roxy was smiling at the result. She had handled herself pretty well during that session.  
  
"Good," Taka said. It was a compliment, even though it didn't really sound like one.  
  
"Thanks, Taka," she said through her heavy panting. She sat down on a nearby log and fanned herself with her paw.  
  
"Next round. Ready?"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "No, no…Need to breathe…"  
  
If Roxy had uttered such a response only a few short months ago, her teacher Taka would have berated her for being weak and forced her to get up and go anyway. Now, though, she didn't fear that at all. She said it with a tired but genuine smile on her face, because she knew that her training partner Taka wouldn't go faster than her own pace.  
  
"Very well," he spoke, "Do not forget to stretch."  
  
"You got it, coach."  
  
Roxy sighed as she stretched her hind limbs out. It felt good to get up and move, even if it really tired her out. Spring was just around the corner, so the air was just cool enough to be pleasant. It had started to rain more often, though not terribly heavily yet. In some ways, it was nice to feel a shower of rain after a long day of training.  
  
It was weird to think of how much she used to _hate_ the rain.  
  
Roxy had learned a lot over the past few weeks training alongside Taka. When he wasn't barking instructions, pushing her too far, and just being downright insulting, she could pick up quite a few things from him. She spent a lot of time just watching him train, and then afterwards trying to do what he did. Taka had commented initially that it was a poor way to learn, but Roxy seemed to be proving him wrong.  
  
With every lesson, Roxy felt more and more capable of defending herself. She didn't put any effort into learning offense, because it wasn't a drive she felt the need to improve. It was more difficult to learn, more dangerous to put into practice, and really wasn't something she wanted to do. The incident with the Houndoom still haunted her a little.  
  
She had, however, learned a multitude of ways to parry attacks with a spear, block with various weapons, strike back defensively so as to disorient or disable foes, as well as tons of dodging manoeuvres.   
  
Roxy practiced what she wanted, and usually Taka obliged. It was a much better system, and Roxy suspected that even Taka was realizing that fact. The two didn't spend any time together outside of the training area, but Roxy didn't really care. They didn't share any common interests anyway.  
  
After stretching some more and feeling a second wind, Roxy stood back up. She went to go pick up her spear, but Taka stopped her.  
  
"Wait," he said, "If you are able, I would like to see your 'power' once more."  
  
Roxy paused and looked at him. "My Grass Knot?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Uhhh…Okay, I guess." She shrugged and then walked over to the middle of the training area. She indicated for Taka to step back, and once he did she took a deep breath.  
  
About a minute and a half of silence passed by as Roxy concentrated. She wondered if Taka was getting impatient with her, but he didn't say anything and she had her eyes closed. The energy needed for the Move was still difficult to find and slow to gather.  
  
As always, a sudden peak of energy signalled that the Grass Knot was ready to go, so she immediately swept out her forepaws. A blooming flower-shape of thick grass spread out below her, standing out among the worn-down earthen floor of the training area.   
  
With the move successfully initiated, she opened her eyes and gave Taka a quick little grin of satisfaction. She saw that he was watching her closely, studying her. So, she brought her paws up and drew the grass blades up and around her like a closed flower bud.  
  
"Truly fascinating…" Taka murmured quietly.  
  
"It's hard," she replied, "Even just doing this."  
  
"Indeed?"  
  
"Yeah…" she said, already feeling the strain begin to slowly build up.  
  
Taka nodded thoughtfully. "And it always takes you that long to ready it?"  
  
Roxy frowned. "If you're just gonna give me criticism, then I'm not gonna dance for you."  
  
"My apologies," Taka said, holding up his forepaws, "I was merely trying to understand your current limitations. The key word is 'current', after all."  
  
"Oh…Well then, yeah. I have to really, really concentrate in order to…um…'feel' around me. The Grass-Type energy is sorta concentrated throughout the ground below. I just have to…y'know…find some, and then draw it in. It takes a while."  
  
She then chuckled. "I'm honestly surprised I was able to get enough energy to fight the Earth Tribe. It was kinda hard to concentrate, considering…"  
  
Taka had moved closer, and was now reaching out one of his paws to softly touch one of the lengths of grass. Roxy simply watched him. His reaction indicated that he didn't feel anything more than normal grass.  
  
Then, to her confusion, he stood still and closed his eyes. A minute went past, and he didn't say a word.  
  
"Uhh…Taka? What're you doing?"  
  
He didn't answer.  
  
Then, she frowned. "Taka, are you trying to feel the energy?"  
  
A curt nod was all she got.  
  
Roxy shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. "I don't think you can. The TM's supposed to put the knowledge in my head, or whatever it does. Otherwise it's so tiny that no-one could ever pick up on it."  
  
After another couple of moments of silence, Taka opened his eyes and sighed in frustration. "You are right…I cannot discern anything specific."  
  
"You'd need the TM."  
  
"Evidently," he grumbled.  
  
Roxy frowned and brought her paws back down. The grass blades 'bloomed' out and curled down to the ground, forming a shallow sort of platform around her.  
  
After a moment, Taka said, "I trust that you know the reason _why_ I wish to learn more about this skill?"  
  
"Yeah…" Roxy glanced to the side. "In case they…come back."  
  
Taka nodded. "If you could teach one, just _one_ of us, it would prove to be invaluable."  
  
Roxy called off the Move and let the grass sink to the ground, then she rubbed her forelimb with her paw, frowning. "I, uh…That's a lot of pressure…" she said, "I really don't think I'd be able to…"  
  
"There is no sense in not trying."  
  
"…Yeah. I guess you're right."  
  
Taka clapped his forepaws together, recapturing her full attention. "Do it again," he instructed her, "but this time, tell me out loud everything that you're doing. Describe everything as much as you can."  
  
She skewed her lips. "It'll be hard to concentrate if I do that…"  
  
"If it takes longer, that is fine. That is not the purpose of the exercise."  
  
Shrugging, she replied, "All right…"  
  
Roxy took just a few moments to regain a bit of her strength, and then closed her eyes once more. "I'm…shutting out the rest of the world. I don't wanna see anything or feel anything, and I don't pay attention to anything I hear…"   
  
Certainly, this was not the first time she had been asked to demonstrate her Grass Knot, nor the first time someone in the tribe had tried to learn it. Her answer was always the same. If she herself didn't even know how she had learned it, then she couldn't very well teach the Move to others. Still, she did understand the value in passing the move on somehow, so she continued to engage Taka's curiosities.  
  
"I, uh…um…" She faltered a little. It seemed like it would be impossible to describe everything that happened during the Grass Knot. "It's like…my hind paws are on the ground…I can sorta feel, like, the ground underneath…and stuff." She frowned, not liking the way her explanation was coming out.  
  
This continued for a few minutes as she tried to explain what was going on. Eventually, this culminated in her unleashing the Move once again, but Taka could only shake his head in frustration.   
  
"Sorry…" she murmured, letting the grass fall once again, "I guess I'm not a good teacher."  
  
"It is not your fault…" Taka replied, though it was clear he was a little irritated.  
  
"TM's are weird. I'm not the only one I know who says that…"  
  
Roxy went and sat on a nearby log, allowing herself to recover from using the Move twice in a row. She didn't feel tired, but it did leave her feeling rather drained.  
  
"Well, I am not giving up on this," Taka stated, "What you have is a skill that would prove useful to our tribe for generations upon generations. It is a counter to our only shared weakness."  
  
She frowned. "I know, I know…" Roxy then sighed and gave the problem some thought, but it didn't seem like there was a solution. "I don't think I can teach a TM move to someone else…"  
  
"There must be a way to learn it…"  
  
Roxy put her brain to work and thought back to everything she had read about TMs in the encyclopedia, which didn't amount to much that she had been able to understand. "TMs are usually used to teach Pokémon Moves that they wouldn't normally be able to learn, but not every TM works with every Pokémon. There still has to be some sort of compatibility. If the Move can't be learned naturally, or by Move Tutor, then a TM is probably the only way that Pokémon can learn the move."   
  
She paused and thought back a bit more to what she had read. "Well, except…If the Pokémon that learned the TM move has a child, and the child would be compatible with the TM, then the child usually grows up to learn it naturally, even without the TM."  
  
Roxy sighed and frowned, still not seeing a solution to the problem. Without the TM in their paws, much less without a human-made device to actually _use_ it, then Grass Knot would probably stay inside of her head and her head only.  
  
When she turned to look at Taka, he had a contemplative look on his face. "What?" she asked. When he didn't answer, she furrowed her brow and pressed further. "What??"  
  
Taka glanced up and made eye contact with her, a paw on his chin. He looked like he was considering something, as if he had an idea.  
  
"What? What is it?" Roxy said, starting to get a little exasperated, "Was it something I said?"  
  
Of course, being Taka, he still refused to just open his mouth and say what was on his mind. Roxy gave a huff of frustration and replayed what she had just said in her mind, trying to figure out what he had latched onto.  
  
When she found it, her eyes grew wide. " _What?!_ " she suddenly burst out.  
  
"I-"  
  
"Are you _serious_ right now?!"  
  
"I was merely-"  
  
"Look, I'm all for making sure the Thunder Clan is secure and safe, but some things are just a _step too far_."  
  
Taka sighed softly and shook his head. "It _would_ work, though?"  
  
Roxy, now blushing furiously for a whole variety of reasons, gave him a pout. "Sure. Maybe. But that's not the point. Did you _really_ think I would agree to something like that?!"  
  
"I never asked-"  
  
Roxy crossed her forepaws with a huff. "I'm not gonna have a baby just so you can get Grass Knot."  
  
"Never mind. Forget I brought it up."  
  
"I wish I could."  
  
"…Are you s-"  
  
" _YES!!_ " Roxy shouted, feeling like the top of her head had just exploded like a volcano. She shook her head furiously, trying to shake off the heat and embarrassment she was getting from this ridiculous conversation.  
  
She then took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "…I can't, anyway."  
  
Taka turned to look at her with an arched eyebrow. "What?"  
  
"I'm a pet," she said simply, "I'm spayed."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
She pinched the bridge of her muzzle in mild irritation. "It means the humans made it so that I can't have cubs. It's a medical thing. Most pets have it done."  
  
"…Oh."  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
What followed was perhaps the most awkward silence that had ever been suffered between the two of them. Possibly, the most awkward in Roxy's whole life. Quite a few minutes went past with neither one looking at each other or saying anything.  
  
"I need to run an errand," Taka said finally, breaking the silence, "I will be back shortly."  
  
She glanced up to regard Taka and gave him a nod. "Okay," she replied, and then watched as he dashed off.   
  
With a wistful sigh, she walked over towards where she'd dropped her spear. Along the way, she eyed the other training weapons leaning against the nearby trees and paused. Her gaze was drawn to a boomerang.  
  
She felt a touch of curiosity. Unlike all the other weapons, Roxy had never even touched a boomerang before. It hadn't looked easy, and no-one had bothered trying to teach it to her. Now that she thought about it, Taka was the only one she had ever seen use a boomerang.  
  
Roxy picked it up and felt its weight. It felt really light in her paws, and was very smooth. She swung it around a few times, and felt how smoothly it cut through the air. It felt rather natural in her paws. She walked over to a target on the ground and hit it with the boomerang. It felt like a lightweight club, but still made a painful sounding _thunk_ against the wood.  
  
"Huh…" she remarked to herself.  
  
She then set her sights on one of the targets hanging from the trees, usually used for archery practice. She didn't think she'd be able to hit it but decided to try anyway. Roxy set her paws firmly and tried  to remember the stance Taka took before throwing it. She reached back like she thought she was supposed to, then swung her foreleg forward and let the wooden projectile fly.  
  
It sailed in a low arch, tumbling over itself, and clattered lamely to the ground halfway to the target. Roxy frowned and groaned at her rather unsuccessful attempt.  
  
She decided to try again, and so walked over to pick the boomerang up. She then returned to her starting position and got ready once more. Roxy figured that the reason her first throw hadn't gone so well was due to her form. The idea was for the boomerang to 'carve' through the air, so the arc of her swing needed to be just right.  
  
The intrepid Pikachu set her paws once more, focused on her form and technique and tried to aim the weapon as best she could. When she thought she was ready, she reared back and let the boomerang fly.  
  
She ended up overcompensating her angle, and the boomerang went flying up high into the air. It did, however, look like it was making a much smoother flight, even if her aim had been horrible. In fact, it looked like the boomerang was cresting and turning around.  
  
It was coming back to her, like it was supposed to.  
  
Really really quickly…!  
  
Roxy yelped and ducked her head down just in time to avoid getting hit right between the eyes. The boomerang sailed over her head, _touching_ some of the fur on top, before whizzing past behind her.  
  
She had ducked her head down at the perfect angle to catch a glimpse of Taka standing behind her, who effortlessly held up one of his paws and caught the boomerang.   
  
"Aah…" Roxy uttered in relief as she fell back onto her rear-end, "Wow…"  
  
Taka simply tossed the boomerang off to the side, where it clattered to the ground.  
  
"That didn't go as well as I'd hoped," Roxy commented, "Wow, though. You didn't even flinch! You didn't even throw that one, and you're _still_ the master of those things!"  
  
He didn't reply. He simply stood there with a frown on his face.  
  
"…Taka?"  
  
She studied him, noting how much his demeanour had changed. He looked morose, like something bad had just happened.  
  
"What…?" she asked, starting to feel anxious, "What is it?" When he didn't reply right away, she added, "Taka, tell me!"  
  
Taka glanced to the side, remained silent for a moment, and then walked over to one of the logs lying nearby and sat upon it. He stared straight ahead, not looking at her.  
  
"…Ozu is dead."  
  
Roxy clasped her paws to her mouth and gasped in shock. "Wh-What…?!" she said, sounding muffled through her paws, "What d'you mean…?"  
  
"His injuries claimed his life. Miri did all that she could."  
  
If she hadn't already been sitting down, Roxy was sure she would have tumbled over. Even so, the world began to spin around her and made her feel nauseous. She kept her paws up to her muzzle, afraid to move a muscle, and stared at Taka with wide eyes. The reality of what Taka had told her began to sink in, slowly and agonizingly.  
  
"B-but…" she murmured, "I…I just saw him…a few days ago…He said he was getting better…"  
  
"Well, he got worse," Taka said tersely.  
  
"Oh…Oh, heavens…" Roxy's wide-eyed gaze drifted off until she was simply staring into space. Her stomach felt unwell, sick as if it were literally trying to digest this awful news. Ozu, her friend, one of the wise ones and leaders of the tribe, dead. She didn't want to believe it.  
  
A familiar feeling of hurt began to course through her veins until it reached her heart. That same awful feeling of despair that came with the death of someone else, just as bad as it had always been. Another Pokémon that she had gotten to know quite well…Gone, never to speak to her again.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and grimaced. There was a reason that she didn't look back upon that battle with the Earth Tribe fondly, even though it had ended in victory. This was that reason. To think that lives were lost, now including Ozu's, simply because a group of Pokémon started to get greedy. If Roxy hadn't driven them off, they might've killed the whole tribe. However, she hadn't been able to save everyone.  
  
Suddenly, Roxy swore rather loudly, even catching Taka by surprise a little. "It's so stupid…" she then murmured, "So awful, so dumb…" A horribly wistful sigh escaped her lips. "Why did it have to be like this…?"  
  
"That is the way of the wild," Taka responded emotionlessly, "We live, we fight, we survive…and we die."  
  
"It's not fair…"  
  
"If you think anything is fair, pet, then I am sorry to say you are deluded."  
  
Roxy flinched a little upon hearing his derogatory nickname once more. Though he may not have been outwardly showing it, Roxy knew this was a sign that Taka was also shaken by this turn of events.  
  
"Why did they even attack…?" Roxy muttered.  
  
"Because they are bloodthirsty savages."  
  
She frowned. "But they weren't like that before. They were mean and rude, but they followed the agreement, right? That's what everyone told me,"  
  
"Mm…"  
  
"Why suddenly change?" she continued to wonder, skewing her lip as she gave it some thought, "To just go from one month of being content, to the next where…Ozu is dead." She choked up a little on those last words.  
  
There was a moment of silence that permeated the area, which was broken by a short sigh from Taka. "That is when he saw you."  
  
She turned towards him. "What?"  
  
"That last trade meeting," he explained, "was when he saw you. He seemed to take a…particular interest in you."  
  
Roxy glanced away and shivered at the memory of Tazoka approaching her and talking to her in that icky sly way of speaking.  
  
"I think, perhaps," Taka continued, "he saw you with us…living with us…still wearing your collar. He probably saw that we had taken you in and thought that we had gone soft or something."  
  
Slowly, Roxy lifted her head up as Taka's words registered in her brain. She turned to look at Taka so that she could answer him, only to find that Taka had already walked off. Instead, Roxy was left to sit there alone, thinking about the death of one of her friends and what Taka had just said.  
  
She didn't move from that spot for hours. She didn't move at all until someone came up to her who was worried.  
  
Then, she silently made her way through the village. Her paws twiddled nervously as she walked slowly, a frown on her face. There was a definite sombre atmosphere to the entire village, and nobody seemed to want to talk to anybody else. It was as if more than just one of their leaders had died.  
  
The trees opened up into a familiar glade with a mound of earth in the centre. Sitting upon it were two very downcast Raichu, both sitting there in silence. Their ears twitched when she stepped into the glade, and the two Raichu turned to look down at her.  
  
Roxy stopped at the base of the mound and looked back up at them, tears in her eyes, cheek fur stained from tears already shed, and her lip quivering.   
  
"Is…" she spoke in a trembling, vulnerable voice, "…Is this my fault…?"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The funeral was a sombre, tragic affair. Roxy cried the whole time, and still couldn't bring herself to keep her eyes on the pyre.   
  
Despite everyone's reassurance that the invasion was not her fault at all, Roxy still found herself carrying a heavy amount of guilt. She reasoned that the Earth Tribe wouldn't have attacked if she hadn't been there, but many including the wise ones disagreed, saying that they would have attacked sooner or later. They noted that the cause for upsetting the balance of peace was Tazoka, not her.  
  
It was hard to convince herself, though. All she could think about was what Taka had said. It seemed like a correct assumption. She remembered the smirk Tazoka had gotten upon seeing her for the first time. Looking back, she could almost see the treacherous gears turning in his head as he sized her up.  
  
Ozu's funeral had a very large crowd, and lasted quite long. His was the death of a prominent member of the tribe, as well as one of their leaders. Roxy had asked Miri, who was sitting next to her, if another Pikachu would be given the Thunder Stone now, but Miri didn't know. Only Karizu and Natoka could decide that.  
  
The wise ones had always seemed invincible to her. She had never seen them fight before the invasion, and yet she had still viewed them as powerful and unstoppable. Raichu were big and scary in her eyes. She had never met any pleasant ones before coming here.  
  
But Ozu had been struck down.  
  
He had tried to hold on, but his strength had given out.  
  
Now he was gone.  
  
Just like Makari.  
  
A few hours later found Roxy lying in her hut, not upon her bedding, just staring blankly at the ceiling. It was dark outside so she couldn't even see the ceiling, but that wasn't an important detail. Sleep was but a distant hope at this point.  
  
Ozu's death was saddening and frightening, and there was a pain in her chest that didn't go away. She hadn't been as close to Ozu as she had been to Makari, though, and her tears were more for a different reason.  
  
No matter what everyone else said, she felt like this was her fault. The more she dwelled on it, she started to feel like a lot of things were her fault, simply by her being there. Life in the village had changed, one way or another, all because she had dropped out of the sky.  
  
Maybe Makari's death was her fault too.  
  
After crying for nearly a half hour and trying to rid herself of that horrible thought, she laid her head back and groaned in despair. Nothing felt right. Everything was wrong.   
  
Her anxiety was starting to take control of her. She had read about anxiety once with her master, and she knew that when things started going wrong, anxiety latches onto it and tries to make things worse and worse. When one worry pops up, suddenly everything is worrisome and scary.  
  
Roxy knew this, but she didn't feel like she had the strength to fight it. Anything positive about the present, or of the past few days and weeks, was just emptiness in her mind. All she could think about was how awful things were.  
  
Ozu was dead…  
  
Makari was dead…  
  
Her master was…  
  
Roxy shook her head wildly. "No!" she said to herself, "You're not going to think about that. Stop it." She then rolled over on her side, letting out a heavy sigh. "Just stop it…" she muttered, "Stop it, please…"  
  
Roxy tossed and turned for hours. Sleep was simply impossible at this point. There was just too much hurt. Like before, all of the strength and defence she had built up had crumbled instantly the moment things had turned bad. She felt so cold, and so lonely.   
  
She was scared. She was hopeless. The dangers of the wild were rearing their ugly heads once more, and she couldn't do much more than cry.  
  
She didn't belong here…  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy may very well have been a lifeless doll when Taka found her.  
  
She heard him climb up the tree, swift as he always was. Then, she heard him pause once he was close enough to catch sight of her. The sight of her sitting on the branch near the top of the tall tree, body slumped and leaning limply against the tree's trunk. Her head resting on the bark, the only thing keeping her sitting upright, and her eyes just staring out at the vast expanse of nothingness.  
  
It was probably a bit of an unnerving sight.  
  
"Roxy?"  
  
She didn't move a muscle, not even when he hopped up onto the branch and stood next to her.   
  
"The others are worried about you."  
  
"Mmm…" she groaned.  
  
"You have been up here for _hours_."  
  
Roxy simply closed her eyes. She felt too tired to deal with this. Her energy reserves were completely empty, and she couldn't even feel the muscles in her own body. She was, for all intents and purposes, just a lump on the tree.  
  
The branch jostled a little when Taka sat down next to her. He wasn't right next to her, but a respectable distance away. She expected him to then say something, but he kept his mouth shut. He just sat there in silence as she did the same.  
  
Time passed. Whether it was ten minutes or two hours, Roxy did not know. Taka continued to sit there the whole time, not saying a single word.  
  
"I tried."  
  
Roxy herself was a little surprised by her own voice. She hadn't really planned on saying anything, but Taka's silent presence had somehow drawn it out.  
  
"Mm?" was all he gave in response.  
  
"I…" She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the heavy feeling of lethargy coursing through her whole body. It felt like even just speaking was too difficult. "I tried…to live out here."  
  
She saw Taka turn and look at her.  
  
"I did try, y'know… I didn't wanna die, so I had to try…and it was hard and it hurt so much, but I gave it everything I had and I still tried…I tried my best."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Taka's surprisingly quiet and empathetic response caught her off guard. "I…I did!"  
  
"I know that you did. No-one can say you did not."  
  
"Ngh…" She shook her head softly. "I…H-He's gone…We won the battle, I did things I never thought I could do, and he's still gone."  
  
"It is the sad truth. Victory never comes without a cost."  
  
"I…just don't think I can try anymore."  
  
There was a moment's pause before Taka spoke once more. "Of course you can."  
  
"Doesn' feel like it…"  
  
"Roxy…"  
  
"I can't."  
  
"Stop this.  
  
"I just…can't."  
  
Roxy let out the heaviest of sighs, slumping even more against the tree's trunk. Taka's words didn't exactly have a reassuring tone to them, but she could tell he was at least a little concerned for her. It didn't matter much, though.  
  
She felt empty inside. Dead but for the fact she was walking. Over the course of her stay here, she had managed to find many silver linings. Now, they were all covered under a thick layer of dark, heavy, depressing tar.   
  
"You have improved…vastly," Taka spoke quietly, "I do hope you realize that."  
  
"Mn…"  
  
"The pet who couldn't swing a stick or swipe her tail, now you are advancing in skill bit by bit every day, learning to use new weapons, and have stood up and won against the Earth Tribe. You are always saying 'I can't' or 'I'm not able to' or 'I give up'…Yet, you have done nothing but take steps forward since you got here."  
  
Roxy closed her eyes wearily as she listened to him talk.  
  
"You are letting this get into your head," he continued, "Despite your bad mood, do you think that Ozu's death has somehow made you worse at combat? Has his passing made you less able to survive out here?"  
  
At that statement, she opened her eyes. She sat up a little straighter, even to her own surprise. Then, she turned and looked Taka straight in the eye.  
  
He furrowed his brow and said, "Right?"  
  
She stared at him.  
  
Taka arched an eyebrow. "…What?"  
  
"Say it again…" she said in such a quiet voice that she barely even heard herself.  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"What you just said."  
  
He looked perplexed for a brief moment, then skewed his lips. "I was merely saying that the sadness will pass, and yet you will still have all of the skills you have gained to live in this forest and survive out here."  
  
"But I don't _want to live in this forest!!!_ "  
  
Bird Pokémon from miles around took to the sky in fright from her loud shout. Even Taka looked a little startled, and had readjusted his grip on the branch as if he had been about to fall off. He stared at her with wide eyes.  
  
Her rage lasted only seconds, and then she was crying again. "Taka, I don't wanna get better at surviving! I wanna go _home_!!"  
  
"…I, ah…"  
  
She let out a few painful wails before she was able to speak again. "I…can't…do this…anymore! I can't stay out here! I need to go home! I want out! I want _out!!_ " She clenched her paws up tight and held them up against her forehead. "Don't you get it?! No matter how good I get at fighting, no matter how good I get at surviving, and no matter how close I get to all of you, I'm never gonna be happy until I can go back home!"  
  
A very tense, awkward silence permeated the air for a few minutes.  
  
"…I don't belong here, Taka. I never will," Roxy said, having calmed down a little but still sounding very sorrowful.  
  
Taka sighed. "Roxy, listen…It is not that none of us understands what you are going through. We are not blind to the way you feel. All of us knew that you wouldn't be happy while you were here, but the fact is that you _are_ here. The wise ones, our brethren, Makari…even I tried to make things a little better for you."  
  
"Thank you for that…"  
  
"My brother…would say to me that he was always thinking…always trying to figure out a way to get you home, whether he would be able to go with you or not."  
  
Roxy turned to look at Taka. Hearing that Makari had not only been trying to help her, but had actually considered going home _with_ her, made her feel shocked and even a little uplifted. Before she could say anything, though, she saw the troubled expression on Taka's face, and she deflated a little.   
  
Makari's passing was still hitting the both of them hard. It had been a long time since they had lost him, and Roxy had somehow managed to find the strength to try and move on. Her days were slowly getting a little brighter, and she was able to mention his name without bursting into tears, but his memory still caused a little stab of despair every now and again. It was probably affecting Taka just as much. Perhaps even worse, but he was so good at hiding his emotions.  
  
"Taka…" she said after more silence had passed, "Thanks for all that you've done. Really, I mean it. I know we're not friends, but you've still done a lot for me." She sighed heavily. "I just…don't know how much more I can take. You could turn me into the greatest warrior in the forest, but inside I'm still a Vermillion City Pikachu pet who loves and misses her master so very much…"  
  
"I can understand that."  
  
"I need to keep giving myself a reason to wake up in the morning. I feel like if I stay here much longer, and watch more Pokémon that I care about die, I might run out."  
  
"Roxy, you are just having a bad day. Like all bad things in this world, this will pass."  
  
Roxy just frowned and shook her head.  
  
"I have known you for quite a few moons at this point. You are a very sensitive Pokémon, and you too easily let things get you down. I would even go so far as to call you 'fragile'. When something bad happens, all the good in your life becomes impossible to see."  
  
"Gee, thanks…" she said, giving him a flat look.  
  
"You are also strong, intelligent, a fast learner, and brave when you need to be. You are kind and caring, and very devoted to those you truly care about." Taka then glanced away. "I did not initially react well when you and my brother got…close…but I can look back on it now and see how happy you made him. Though he cared for you so much, you cared about him as well. You were worried about him. There is no way I could fault anybody for that."  
  
Roxy sniffled, feeling the tears starting to return. "I cared about him so much…Did…Did he really say that he might've gone home with me?"  
  
Taka nodded, and Roxy wasn't sure how to feel about that. She felt both a warm and happy feeling from the idea that he would be that caring and dedicated to her, but also a cold and sorrowful feeling from knowing that it would never happen now.  
  
She sat there for a moment and thought about this. In the end, though, her defences were down and the latter feeling won. As the sensation of heaviness returned to her whole body, she slumped against the tree trunk once more and let out a sigh that was partly a whine.  
  
A _really_ long period of silence passed. Roxy at times wondered if Taka was going to say anything else or just up and leave, but neither happened. She didn't pay too much mind though, as she just felt too depressed to care about much of anything.  
  
"You truly believe that things will not get better for you, no matter how much time is given?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"I know that separation from your human is difficult, but do you not believe that you will eventually adapt and find new life here?"  
  
She shook her head again.  
  
Taka paused before speaking again. "Do you believe that, even after years and years of staying here, that you will never stop trying to find a way home? No matter if it takes your whole life?"  
  
Roxy clenched her eyes shut. "I would…" she croaked, "I…No matter how long it takes…"  
  
"Okay. I just needed to know for sure."  
  
She opened her eyes again and sat up straight, turning to look at him. "…What?"  
  
"You are right, in everything you have said. You do not belong here. You are not safe here. You need to go home." With a soft sigh, he extended one of his forepaws towards her, palm upwards. Then, he said one more thing. Roxy almost didn't register it, for how unbelievable it was.  
  
"I will take you to the forest's edge."  
  
Roxy, still as a statue, could do no more than blink for a few seconds. She gazed down at his paw, gestured to her as if he wanted her to take it so that he could lead her somewhere.  
  
"…Don't joke about that, Taka," she said quietly, "If this is a joke, it isn't funny."  
  
"This is no joke."  
  
"Ruh…" Her heart began to thump against her ribs. "…Really…?"  
  
"Really."  
  
She gulped. "I'm serious, Taka. Don't say that unless you really mean it! You…Y-you really…"  
  
He closed his eyes and held his other forepaw to his chest. "I truly mean it," he said. Then, as if to seal the deal, there appeared a tiny little smile directed at her.  
  
Roxy's loud squeal of joy frightened off any bird Pokémon that hadn't already flown away. Pokémon miles away on the horizon could have probably heard her. She immediately lunged forward and glomped Taka with a hug, nearly sending the both of them careening off of the branch.  
  
"Hey…!" Taka protested.  
  
"Thank you!!" she exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" She gave him the biggest squeeze she could muster, not caring if her fresh tears of joy stained his fur.  
  
"Easy now…"  
  
"Aah…!" Roxy released him and sat back up straight. "You really mean it? You're super duper serious?"  
  
Taka brushed himself off before nodding.  
  
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! I…you're gonna…it's…" She closed her eyes and held back another loud squeal. "I'm going home!!" A warm sense of elation flooded through her, erasing every single negative thought that she had. She felt like she was going to swell up and explode! Never before had she experienced this much happiness and excitement all at once. She didn't know how to contain it all!  
  
"Now, hold on," Taka said, holding up his forepaws, "Do not get overly excited just yet. This does not mean that we will be setting out come the following dawn. There are certain things that need to be done first."  
  
Roxy wrangled her excitement down enough so that she could respond, but she could still feel it bubbling up inside of her. No matter what Taka was about to say, that feeling of overwhelming excitement wasn't going away. "Y-yeah! Yeah, okay. What?"  
  
"First," he said, holding up a single digit, "there is more that you must learn. You have come a long way, but if I am going to lead you through dangerous territory, then there are defensive and offensive skills that you _need_ to know, otherwise you will never make it.  
  
"Second, we must take enough time to ensure that the village is still safe. There is still the possibility that the Earth Tribe may counterattack, and so we must ensure that the conflict has ended."  
  
Roxy nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Okay." She chuckled to herself, still feeling just as much excitement bubbling up within her. "That might take a while I guess, but hey…I waited this long, I can wait a couple more weeks…right?"  
  
Taka wasn't done, though. "Third," he said, "and this is the most important. You _must_ teach someone in this tribe to use your grass power."  
  
 _That_ managed to put a little dent in her excitement. "Yeah…?"  
  
"It does not matter who. Obviously it cannot be myself, as I will be leaving with you. As long as you can teach _someone_ the very basics of this skill, enough that they will be able to practice it and learn on their own, that will be sufficient."  
  
Roxy glanced away, now feeling a bit conflicted. She had just earlier been considering such a task and had considered it impossible. With the excitement of going home, though, it didn't seem _quite_ as impossible. Still, though, it was daunting.  
  
"You understand why this is necessary, yes?"  
  
"Uh…yeah," she said with a nod, "I guess I sorta became the one you all depended on to deal with Ground-types, and you want to keep that defence after I'm gone." She chuckled again. "Isn't _that_ a crazy thought? The tribe depending on me…"  
  
"If one of our brethren can at least grasp the skill, they will be able to share it with others, and soon the whole tribe will be able to wield it. Our greatest vulnerability will be sealed."  
  
She gulped, feeling a little intimidated by this task. However, there was still enough bubbly excitement to overpower it and allow her smile to return. It couldn't be _impossible_ after all.   
  
"Is that agreeable?" Taka asked.  
  
"Yes! Yes, totally!" she said, her smile fully returned, "Aaaah! I'm so excited! I'm so happy! Thank you again, Taka. You…it just…y-you don't know just how much this means to me. I…" Roxy then fell quiet for a moment as she turned to gaze at Taka. "Hey," she said in a more calm voice, "Not that I'm not super grateful and all, but…where is this suddenly coming from?"  
  
Taka eyed her for a moment, then closed his eyes and sighed. "I have been thinking of leaving for a while now," he answered.  
  
"Leaving? Leaving the village? You mean like forever, or…?"  
  
"No," he said as he shook his head, "Simply to go on a journey. Just like before. I feel like it is something that I need to do. I feel as if this is not where I am meant to be right now."  
  
"Oh…"  
  
Taka then gazed out at the horizon. "I am no longer happy here. Ever since…the loss of my brother…this place has felt less and less like my home. It is, of course, no fault of the rest of the clan. They are wonderful Pokémon and I cherish each and every one of them…but Makari has moved on, and I feel like I need to as well." He paused and then added, "I am certain I will return again. You are not the only one prone to homesickness, after all."  
  
Roxy gazed at him as he spoke. She had been so focused on the idea of being able to go home that she hadn't even considered the fact that Taka would be leaving the Thunder Clan behind as well. He had done so once before, and that had been a journey that had not ended well. Makari had once told her that the journey had changed Taka and he had never been the same since. Now he wanted to do so again?  
  
"Is that really true?" she asked, "You're not just saying that so I won't feel bad about making you do such a big thing for me?"  
  
"It is true," he replied, "but, honestly, if I were not planning on leaving already, I still might have considered it." He gave her a little smirking grin. "Really, how could I not? I promised him that I would keep you happy."  
  
Roxy blinked and stared at him for a moment. She smiled soon after. "You…You're really…?"  
  
"I gave him my word," he continued, "I look back upon things now, and…I know that doing this would make him happy. I want my brother to be happy, wherever he is now."  
  
Roxy was grinning. She hadn't realized that Taka had actually said yes to Makari's last words. What's more, it didn't sound like Taka was just begrudgingly following Makari's request because he felt obligated to. It was a nice sentiment to hear. In a way, it felt like Taka was channeling Makari's own kindness; something that she had dearly missed.  
  
"Taka…?"  
  
"Mm?"  
  
"I can't thank you enough for offering to do this for me. I'll work extra-super hard to do all of those things you need me to do. But…you also have to do something for me, okay?"  
  
He turned and gave her a look with an arched eyebrow. "And what would that be?"  
  
She gave him a gentle smile and said, "You have to tell me what happened on your first journey."  
  
Taka's look immediately soured, but he didn't look away.  
  
a"I know it hurts to think about, whatever it is that hurt you…but I think this is important. You only have to tell me, and I _promise_ that I won't tell anybody else." She glanced away. "Just…Whatever happened to you out there, I want to help make sure it doesn't happen again…"  
  
Taka spent a long time just sitting there, looking at her. Roxy began to wonder if she had overstepped her boundaries. She was about to raise her head and take back what she had asked of him when he answered.  
  
"I will," he said with a nod, "Not right now, but I promise to tell you before we leave."  
  
"Really…?" she said with a smile.  
  
"You are right…This is something I have kept buried inside for years and years now. It has been on my mind as I have considered this journey, and if you are to accompany me, then it is only fair to let you know."  
  
Roxy nodded and grinned at him. Then, her excitement started to bubble over again, causing her to squeal softly and give him another friendly hug. "This is so awesome! Oh my gosh, I can't wait! Master, I'm coming home!!" She shut her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying yet again.  
  
"One more thing you need to do," Taka spoke.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
" _Stop hugging me!_ "


	21. Class is in Session

"Anything?"  
  
"No…"  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
When Bamaka nodded in response, Roxy sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Don't worry about it," she told him, "You gave it a try."  
  
Her old friend Bamaka was just one in a long line of Thunder Clan brethren who had tried and failed to learn the Grass Knot. As she had expected none of them could manage to pick up on the subtle energy that was needed to perform the move. It was just something she herself was familiar with and couldn't share.  
  
"I will not give up," Bamaka told her, "I will try again later."  
  
Roxy just groaned softly in frustration. This wasn't going as planned. No-one had even taken a step forward in learning the move. She was running out of Pokémon to try it on! Someone had to learn this, but she wasn't sure if anyone could.  
  
It was at least a week, probably more, since Taka stated his intention to lead her to the forest's edge. Upon his request, she hadn't yet told anyone about the plan. Taka's departure last time hadn't gone over so well with the others, and he didn't want anybody jumping the gun this time until they were closer to actual departure.  
  
But now Roxy was getting genuinely worried if that departure would come at all.  
  
Roxy had been working _hard_. Since that day, she had spent literally almost every single waking minute in the training area. Leisure was pretty much a thing of the past. The real, tangible promise of being taken out of the forest had turned out to be the perfect motivator. Now, more than ever, Roxy was focused on learning as many fighting skills as she could. She was already making vast improvements, and could pull off a number of moves without thinking too much about doing so.  
  
Yet, gaining more skills was only one of the requirements she had to meet. Taka had said that they couldn't leave until someone else learned Grass Knot. If that didn't happen, then Roxy couldn't leave, and this made her feel really nervous.  
  
"Get up. Time to spar."  
  
Roxy rolled her eyes and let out a huff of breath before turning to look at the approaching Taka. Despite all that had changed about him since she had first met him, his bluntness was still the same.  
  
"What's the matter with you?" he said as he came to a stop just behind her.  
  
"I…" She paused mid-sentence, blinked, and gave him a confused look. Then she shook her head softly and continued. "I am finding it difficult, as I have told you before, to teach Grass Knot to someone."  
  
"Ah. Troubling indeed," he replied, emotionlessly as always. That was apparently the end of the conversation, as he picked up a spear and started stretching.  
  
Roxy just sighed and walked over to pick up a spear of her own. At least _this_ part was going well enough. Of course, it didn't matter if the proverbial radio was built if there were no radio waves to pick up.  
  
"Ready?" he asked her.  
  
"I have a headache."  
  
"Well, that may be so, but your-"  
  
"My enemy doesn't care if I have a headache," Roxy interjected, completing Taka's sentence, "I know, I know…"  
  
"Sit down then. We will begin."  
  
Without further protest, Roxy made her way to the middle of the training area and sat down facing away from Taka. This was a training exercise that he had devised as a way to start off their sparring matches. The rules were that she wasn't allowed to move until she heard him, usually marked by a quiet grunt. This was to help train her reflexes in case a predator snuck up behind her. Sometimes, Taka would wait up to 10 whole minutes before making his move, so she was teaching herself not to let her guard down.  
  
Roxy's personal goal was to improve her self-defence skills to a point where she would no longer feel nervous when facing an enemy. She needed to feel confident in her ability to defend herself from attacks. She didn't need to be perfect, since Taka would be there alongside her, but she also couldn't freeze up and require that he do all of the fighting. After that, she planned to learn as many ways as she could to nonlethally incapacitate her foes.   
  
Taka had suggested she learn how to kill. One mention of the Houndoom incident had quieted this idea. Even Taka knew how much she had been traumatized by that.  
  
A soft grunt.  
  
Roxy darted forward as if she were spring loaded, half-rolled and turned herself around, and then brought up her spear into a block. Taka's own weapon connected with it mere seconds later. She held strong and placed her paws in a better position as she continued to face down her opponent. Then, Taka quickly broke away and slashed towards her from the right. Roxy saw him moving to the right and adjusted her stance accordingly. Taka's strike was successfully blocked.  
  
In the brief pause that followed, she took a moment to give Taka a confident smirk.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
A couple of weeks later, Roxy was leaning against a tree next to the training area. She was worn out and resting, enjoying the cool breeze of early spring. At the moment, she found herself reflecting on things.  
  
Roxy had proven herself very capable of blocking strikes. It was something she had been taught right from the get-go, and it was one of the first things that she had really picked up on. Now, if she were facing her foe, she could confidently use a spear or a similar weapon to block incoming strikes, be they from a weapon, a limb, a tail, or even claws. She'd had no idea that the Thunder Clan had made 'practice claws' out of tree bark.  
  
After countless hours training with Taka, and then countless _more_ hours training with Taka, Roxy could feel something change inside of her. It was as if a door had been unlocked in her mind and she was finally shifting towards the mind of a combatant. It wasn't as if fighting was now fun or enjoyable to her, but she found herself with a bit more focus than before. There was less of that paralyzing sense of fear that tended to attack her during combat situations, and she was now able to focus as much as she could on analyzing her opponent and deciding where the next strike would come from.  
  
Admittedly, she had only been fighting Taka, but he was a frightening enough opponent on his own sometimes.  
  
On the flipside of the Poké Ball, that was the only thing that she could say she was now adept at. She was still having a lot of trouble when it came to counterattacks and ways to disable or disarm her opponent. She didn't have much of the strength required to force her foe off-balance, or to create distance between the two of them. She was also still struggling just as much as before with her electric attacks. Taka had told her that said attacks were vital for her, since she didn't possess the 'Spark'.  
  
It was a process. It was a routine that she was following. It had been many weeks since his promise to take her to the edge of the forest. She had expected this to make her feel jumpy or impatient, but she felt neither of those things. Things were strangely calm, if a little tense at times. Perhaps it was because she had a clear goal, and a way to work towards it.  
  
"Look what I found, Roxy."  
  
The Pikachu's ears perked up upon hearing the familiar voice. She glanced over at the newcomer and said, "Miri?" Then, her eyes widened and she gasped.  
  
Miri smiled sweetly. "Do you know anybody who would want these?"  
  
"Meee! Mememememe!!" Roxy exclaimed, giggling as she beheld the pile of Leppa Berries in Miri's paws. Her stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast.  
  
"Really? You like Leppa Berries?" Miri asked teasingly.  
  
Roxy stuck out her tongue and playfully snatched a berry from the bunch. She wasted no time in chowing down on the delectable fruit. "Mmmm!!" She smiled at the wonderful taste.  
  
"How have you been?" Miri asked, taking a seat next to her, "I have not seen you for a couple of days."  
  
Roxy swallowed her mouthful of berry before answering. "Pretty good, I suppose…ish…" She shrugged. "Y'know how it is."  
  
"Well, even 'good-ish' is something to be happy about, is it not?"  
  
"Yeah," Roxy nodded. "I've been spending a lot of time here…"  
  
"I had heard. You are continuing to train with Taka? I had thought that requirement no longer applied to you."  
  
"Yeah, but…It's actually going well this time. I'm getting better. Not just with fighting, but, like, in my head too. Things are different now. Taka's become a much better teacher."  
  
Miri smiled and patted her on the back. "I still remember that first week. You hobbled over to my hut, one bruise away from being completely beaten up, all from Taka's teaching…" She sighed. "Have you ever taken a step back and looked at how far you have come?"  
  
"I have…" Roxy glanced off in thought for a moment. "It is a lot, but in some ways I'm still exactly the same. Sometimes, it's even a little scary to think about how much different I am now. I sometimes get this weird worry that I'm changing and I won't be the same Roxy anymore."  
  
"Oh, that is silly," Miri said with a lighthearted chuckle, "No matter what happens or how much you change, nothing can change the very essence of you. You are Roxy, and you will always be Roxy, unless _you_ choose to stop being Roxy."  
  
The young Pikachu smiled a little.   
  
"You love Leppa Berries, so you _must_ still be the same Roxy!"  
  
A giggle slipped past Roxy's lips.  
  
"Where is this renewed interest coming from, though?"  
  
"I…" Roxy paused briefly. Taka still wanted her to keep their plans under wraps for the time being. "…I guess so much has happened to me, that I just want to stop being a victim, y'know? I'm really pestering Taka into focusing as much as possible on self-defence. I never wanted to become a 'warrior' and I still don't."  
  
"That is understandable," Miri said with a nod, "I do think that certain members of this clan, in the early days, saw you as something they could mold. Besides myself, no-one in this village has ever _not_ been a warrior. But also, it was always your intention to go home someday, was it not? I think some of us forgot to listen to that fact."  
  
"…" Roxy stared at the ground for a moment. "Y-yeah…" she murmured quietly. She then gasped softly as Miri suddenly reached a paw over and gave her a hug.  
  
"You will get home someday," she said, "I know you will."  
  
Roxy was about to smile and agree, but pessimism chose that moment to cloud over her mind. She was still faced with a seemingly impossible obstacle to overcome before she would be permitted to go home with Taka. Someone still had to learn Grass Knot.  
  
"Miri?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"…What's it like when you use Heal Pulse?"  
  
The Audino didn't reply right away. "You mean my healing waves? Hmm…" Roxy glanced back and saw that she had her paw to her chin in thought. "Goodness, young one. You seem to have asked an impossible question."  
  
Roxy's ears fell. "Really…?"  
  
"It is something that I have been able to do since I was but a young cub. The energy that I use and control is something that I am…innately familiar with. I do not think I could explain it to someone else, no matter how hard I tried."  
  
Slumping down a little, Roxy let out a sigh.  
  
"Why? Have I upset you somehow?" Miri asked, sounding a little worried.  
  
"It's the same with my Grass Knot. It's something I just can't explain to others…"  
  
"Ah…" Miri replied in understanding, "Yes, I had also heard that others were trying to learn your powers. I take it their attempts are still unsuccessful?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "It's…super important that somebody else learns it."  
  
"Quite so. It is an invaluable defence."  
  
 _It's also important to me for other reasons,_ Roxy said to herself.  
  
"Well, do not let it get you down, Roxy. I am sure someone will be able to grasp it sooner or later."  
  
Roxy tsked in frustration. "I wish you could learn it," she muttered, "S'probably easier for you since you already know about energy and stuff…" She then furrowed her brow. Could Audino learn Grass Knot? She didn't think so, but then again there were so many different Moves and so many different Pokémon, it was so hard to keep track of them all. The listing in the encyclopaedia had been a huge table in tiny print that still took up about 15 pages.  
  
"I will consider the problem," Miri told her, "I will try to think of a way to explain my own powers, and perhaps that will help you."  
  
"I dunno if it's gonna happen," Roxy said pessimistically, "I think _everyone_ in the village has tried to learn from me…Almost everyone, anyway…"  
  
"Really?" Miri spoke, slightly incredulous.  
  
"Taka, Bamaka, Roma'a…even Karizu tried his best and couldn't get it."  
  
"Oh dear…"  
  
She sighed again. "Makari was so smart…He woulda gotten it in a jiffy…" she muttered darkly.  
  
Miri reached over and patted her on the back. "Come now, Roxy. Cheer up. Enjoy the Leppa Berries! Your favourite treat will lift your spirits."  
  
Roxy glanced at the Leppas that Miri was still holding. Her mouth watered and she already felt some of her cares start to drift away. "I can have another?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, no, no. These are _all_ for you!" Miri said cheerfully, holding out all five of the remaining berries to her.  
  
"What? Really?"  
  
"Of course! They are your favourite, after all."  
  
Roxy gratefully accepted the berries, and by the time she had eaten them all she was feeling a lot better. In the meantime, Roxy and Miri talked about a lot of things and enjoyed one another's company. The conversation moved towards much nicer topics that didn't make Roxy stress out.   
  
She was once more smiling and laughing by the end.  
  
"Well," Miri said after the last berry had disappeared into Roxy's mouth, "I should not keep you any longer."  
  
"Yeah," Roxy nodded, "Thanks for that. I promised Taka that I would practice my Grass Knot."  
  
"Indeed?"  
  
"Uh huh. My biggest problem with it is endurance. It's a _huge_ drain on my energy, and I'd like to be able to keep it going for longer if I can."  
  
"I see, I see. Well, a full belly is sure to give you plenty of energy."  
  
Roxy laughed. "You're right! This should be a piece of cake!"  
  
"A piece of what?"  
  
She turned to look at the Audino, baffled for a moment before she realized just who she was talking to. Instead, she laughed once more. "Nothing. Never mind. I'll talk to you later, okay?"  
  
Miri tilted her head a little, but then smiled as well. "Okay! Good luck with your training, Roxy."  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
Roxy waved to Miri as she walked off towards the village, and then she giggled. Of course Miri wouldn't know what a 'cake' was. Human figures of speech didn't really work here.  
  
She sighed in contentment from her fresh meal and stood up. After a quick stretch, she made her way to the middle of the training area and got ready for some Grass Knot training.  
  
"…Now I want cake…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy's adrenaline had reached 11 out of 10!  
  
She was panting heavily, eyes wide open and alert, and paws gripped tightly around the spear she held. She kept herself light on her paws, ready to move at a moment's notice. She was sweating profusely, but tried her best to ignore it. She had more important things to focus on.  
  
Taka darted forward and swung. Roxy held up her spear horizontally just in time for his attack to glance off, but this didn't stop the warrior. He immediately slid to the side to attack again. Roxy shifted her body weight just enough so that she could block this strike as well.  
  
Taka then began to circle around her, trying to get in a strike wherever he could. She was carrying a practice spear with a dulled tip, though she wasn't focusing on using it as a weapon at all. Roxy was just focused on staying alive, figuratively speaking. While Taka only carried a simple stick without any spear attached to it, Roxy knew that it still stung quite a bit when he got in a hit.   
  
Roxy closed her eyes, grit her teeth, and pushed forward with her own weapon. Taka's momentum was turned back against him, forcing him to take a step back so as not to fall over. Roxy used this time to adjust her stance and get more distance between the two of them. She watched him closely, breathing quietly but quickly, not letting her gaze leave him for a second.  
  
Taka was the predator. Taka wanted to kill her, and she needed to stop him.  
  
Her heart felt like it was going to pop, or that it was going to never stop beating this hard. She could feel herself being pushed to her limits, but she ignored this too. All that mattered was blocking Taka's next strike. She took a step back and batted away his short jumping strike, causing his weapon to hit a tree nearby instead. Taka then twirled around and brought his stick around to strike her on the opposite side, but Roxy was ready for this strike too.   
  
The forest air was filled with the clacks and whacks of their weapons connecting, like an asynchronous drum beat. It was the only sound that could be heard. Roxy couldn't afford to waste any breath on any kind of sound. Taka was relentless in his attacks, just like he always was.  
  
More dodges, more blocking. Roxy twisted herself this way and that to be able to intercept his strikes as best she could, making sure to always bring her weapon back into a ready state. She knew the follies of successfully blocking an attack, only to be unprepared for the next one. Until the target's guard was down, the dance of spears would not end.  
  
Minutes passed as Roxy's stamina slowly but surely depleted. She grit her teeth, trying to expend as much effort as she could out of those last few drops of adrenaline. She had to keep going. She knew she couldn't stop.  
  
Finally, with one more shove of her own weapon against his, Roxy forced Taka back and the two stopped moving. Taka regarded her while she breathed heavily, trying to catch her lost breath. But she didn't leave her guard down. Taka would sometimes trick her by only pretending that their practice session was over.  
  
"Quite impressive," he said, smiling as he stood up straight.   
  
Roxy stood up straight as well, but gave him a cautious eye.  
  
Taka, however, tossed the weapon over his shoulder and it clattered to the ground a fair distance away. _That_ was more of a sign that the session was over.  
  
She let out a big sigh of relief and held a paw to her chest. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribs, and it felt like nothing would ever get her breath back.  
  
"That was definitely quite remarkable," Taka commented, "You have indeed come a long way."  
  
"Thanks…" she said through her heavy panting, unable to say much more.  
  
Taka looked at her with a curious expression for a moment. "You _do_ realize what just happened, don't you?"  
  
Finally having caught at least half of her breath, Roxy tilted her head at him and replied, "No, what?"   
  
"That was the first time you were able to avoid getting hit…entirely."  
  
Roxy blinked once, a surprised expression on her face as she thought back to the match that had just taken place. It was mostly all a blur but, now that she thought about it, she couldn't recall Taka managing to get any hits in. She certainly didn't have any bruises to represent any.  
  
"…Really?" she asked, just for confirmation.  
  
Taka nodded.   
  
She grinned excitedly. "Oh my gosh, wow!" she cheered. Over the past couple of weeks, Taka had been routinely testing her like this. He certainly wasn't using his full skillset, otherwise she'd have no chance. However, he was using the same general set of moves against her, if ordered randomly each time. To be able to have fully blocked each and every strike was something that amazed her.  
  
"You are improving."  
  
"I…I'm improving," she said with a smile.  
  
"Perhaps this won't turn out as difficult as I had envisioned."  
  
Roxy jumped up a few times in excitement.  
  
"Do not let it get to your head," he immediately cautioned her, "You still need to improve your thunder skills, your special skill, and your counterattacks."  
  
"I know…I know, but I'm just excited! I should go treat myself! I passed one of my courses!"  
  
Taka looked at her in confusion. "You what now?"  
  
Roxy snickered. "Never mind. Don't worry about it."  
  
Taka just furrowed his brows at her, then rolled his eyes as she ran off.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"All right…" Taka said in a slightly frustrated tone, pinching the bridge of his muzzle, "This is clearly your weak point."  
  
Roxy frowned. "Gee, y'think?"  
  
"This is…not normal."  
  
"Hey…!"  
  
Roxy was sitting on the ground, forelimbs crossed, and her ears still twitching a bit from the leftover electricity. She would have liked to say she had been practicing to learn Thundershock, but a more apt description would be to say she was just shocking herself.  
  
"It may not be a nice thing to hear," Taka continued, "but it is the truth. Some Pichu and Pikachu are slower to learn how to wield their thunder, but by your age they can all at least master the basic moves." He then held up his paw. "Before you say anything, I _know_ you are trying very hard. You are doing your best, but the results simply are not what should be expected."  
  
Roxy glanced away.  
  
"If you could only learn the simplest move…" he said, which Roxy knew referred to Thundershock, "…then that would be fine, but you cannot even reach that. The fact is that you will be unable to cause actual damage to anything besides…I don't know, a Caterpie perhaps."  
  
Sighing, Roxy turned to look at him once more. "What should I do? Is there, like, some kind of super training to juice up the electricity in me? I think I saw that on some kid's show once, and that Pikachu beat an Onix."  
  
"Perhaps you should speak with Miri."  
  
Roxy tilted her head. "Miri? Why?"  
  
"I think she might be able to find the problem."  
  
At first she was confused by what he meant. What could Miri know that an actual Electric-type didn't? Then, however, she realized what he was implying. "What?" she blurted out, "You think something's _wrong_ with me? Like I've got some kind of…some kind of…medical problem?"  
  
"At this point, I would not rule it out."  
  
Roxy felt a bit incensed. "You think I've got a disability, like I'm some kind of cripple. Gee, thanks a lot Taka…"  
  
The moment after those words left her mouth, though, she frowned and glanced down at the ground. She began to wonder if it really was true. Maybe she was just born with something that was preventing her from using Electric Moves, or maybe it was something because of her upbringing that she couldn't change now.  
  
A long period of silence floated between the two. Neither one of them looked at the other.  
  
"Well…" Roxy spoke finally in a tiny voice, "What if I do…?"  
  
Taka didn't reply right away.  
  
"Does that mean…I can't go home?" She mentally braced herself, dreading the answer.  
  
Another couple of tense minutes passed before Taka finally let out a sigh. "No…It does not mean that."  
  
Roxy let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, feeling a wave of relief wash over her.  
  
"It would make the journey more dangerous, though. You are already at a disadvantage without the Spark."  
  
"Right…"  
  
"I can do my best to keep you safe, but I am not perfect…"  
  
Roxy whimpered quietly, staring down at the ground. She needed another handicap like she needed a hole in her head. It was going to be hard enough to get through the forest without being able to use Electric attacks. Did she really have some sort of shortcoming? Was that even medically possible?  
  
"Um…" she spoke up, "I don't mean this to be rude or anything, but how good are you?" She glanced up at Taka to hear his answer.  
  
Taka half-rolled his eyes. "I have mastered all of the techniques. It is just that I usually do not need them."  
  
"So you can do _Thunder_?"  
  
He gave her an inquisitive look.  
  
"Uhh…The move where lightning comes straight down from the sky?"  
  
"Ah. Yes, of course."  
  
Roxy nodded. That was good. At least Taka knew one of the more powerful Electric-type Moves. Still, though, what would it mean for the future if training electric attacks was getting her nowhere? If she couldn't do anything more than a measly little Thunder Jolt, did she have a chance out there?  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy was focused. She was more determined than ever before.  
  
She was in a ready position, holding the blunted spear in her paws. Taka stood facing her, ready to begin the day's lesson. As usual, he had that same impassive look on his face. It was Roxy who had fire in her eyes.  
  
The trip to Miri's a few days ago hadn't exactly told her anything conclusive. Miri was a healer, not a veterinarian. She did do her best to examine Roxy, though, and watched her do a Thunder Jolt. Miri had noted that the inside of her body didn't feel the same as others in the tribe. Furthermore, Miri had heard tell of a Water Pokémon living near her original tribe who couldn't perform Water Moves, so it was possible for the same to happen to Roxy.  
  
Inconclusive results, though they may have been, the most likely conclusion was that Roxy wouldn't be able to learn Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder, or anything useful.   
  
That was why she was so determined. She stared down Taka, her teacher and her opponent, ready to put 150% into whatever he was going to teach her. Roxy had decided that if she was going to have a handicap, then she was going to do whatever she could to compensate for it.  
  
"Counterattacks," Taka announced, "They are an important skill to learn. No matter how good you are at defending, if you cannot counterattack, then you will simply be stuck defending endlessly until you run out of strength and die."  
  
That was Taka, blunt as always.  
  
"Even if your counterattack does not connect," Taka continued, "It will often be enough to throw off your opponent's rhythm or upset their balance, giving you enough time to escape, press attacks, or wait for help to arrive."  
  
She nodded. "Right."  
  
"So, we will begin with a sudden jab forward with the shaft of your weapon, using the paw that is already holding it up to block. I will come at you with a series of repetitive moves. Block at least three of them, then choose your moment to strike back at me."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up. "Strike?" she repeated.  
  
"Yes. Strike at me like this," he said, and then demonstrated the jab that she was to perform.  
  
"Uhh…" Roxy muttered, "I, uh…Are you sure? You really want me to… _jab_ you like that? I don't wanna hurt you, Taka."  
  
Taka turned his head and gave her an odd look with a raised eyebrow. "…Seriously?"  
  
"What?"   
  
"Roxy, trust me. If you can manage to hurt me, then you will be able to walk to the forest's edge on your own." After a moment, he punctuated his statement with a little smirk.  
  
She gave him a nonplussed look. "I've hit you before in training…"  
  
"Obviously because I let you."  
  
"Right, sure," she muttered with a roll of her eyes.  
  
"Do you want to learn to counterattack or not?"  
  
Roxy sighed and held up her weapon. "Fine, fine. Let's just do this."  
  
Taka nodded and stepped towards her. Once he was close enough, he rose his weapon and made a rather slow swing towards her right shoulder. Roxy held up her spear to block it. He then did the same but to her left side, and she blocked that easily as well. Then he went back to the right, which she blocked, and continued this pattern while picking up speed. Roxy soon understood what he meant by repetitive moves. It was at least nice that Taka was employing teaching methods that started her out slow and easy.  
  
The sound of wood clacking against wood repeatedly rung out through the air as Roxy focused on blocking the same two repeating strikes over and over again. Her next step was to block one of the strikes, then push her paw forward to jab one end of the spear towards Taka. She realized that if she did it right, she could end up hitting him right in the muzzle.  
  
She briefly hesitated, fearing that she would injure her instructor. However, he had insisted that she do it anyway. After a few more strikes, Roxy chose an opening and suddenly jabbed the lowered end of the weapon forward.  
  
It would have struck Taka in the cheek. Instead, it merely struck air after Taka swiftly moved his head just a few inches to the side.  
  
"Not bad for your first try," he commented.  
  
"Whoa…How did you do that? It's like you knew when it was coming!"  
  
"Instinct, training, knowing my opponent…Take your pick."  
  
Roxy skewed her lips. It was sometimes easy to forget just how good Taka could be when he wanted to.  
  
"Next time," he continued, "Do not wait so long after your opponent has struck. The moment your weapons connect, strike back."  
  
"…Right," she murmured unconfidently.   
  
"Something troubling you?"  
  
"I don't know if I can react that fast."  
  
He shook his head. "That is why you do not counterattack immediately upon blocking the first strike. Parry with your opponent a few times and pay attention for the perfect time to strike."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy said with a thoughtful expression, "Yeah, I guess that makes more sense."  
  
"Good. Now try it again."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy was nervous.  
  
It wasn't because she was facing off against Taka, who was coming at her like a crazy wild Pokémon, nor was it because this was a test for her that involved a full-on, fight to the end, sparring match. It also wasn't because Taka wasn't holding back as much and had managed to get a number of good hits on her.  
  
No, Roxy was nervous because they had drawn a crowd. A large crowd.  
  
Apparently Roxy had shown enough of an increase in her skills that it was now considered a spectacle to see. A large group of villagers was standing just outside of the training area and watching the two of them fight. Among the crowd were both wise ones, Miri, Bamaka, Adi and his family.  
  
With so many Pokémon watching her fight, she was developing quite a case of stage fright. However, she had been in a good mood when the match had started, so the mix of emotions was somewhat balancing her out. Taka had told her that it had been much more than a month since the Earth Tribe's invasion and it looked like they weren't coming back, neither to attack nor for their promised berries. Basically, it meant that one of her three requirements for going home was now officially checked off.  
  
Now, however, she was trying to prove that a second checkmark could be placed, both to Taka and to herself. This wasn't so much a final exam, but it was a chance to prove how much she had learned. It was hard to believe, and even harder to admit, but Roxy had become a competent fighter.  
  
Or, at least she did when it came to defence.  
  
Taka circled around her, crawling on three paws while the fourth held his boomerang ready. He had his back arched and his tail high to the sky, ready to pounce on her or use his weapon. Roxy stayed steady on her hind paws, keeping a close eye on him. He had given her quite a few cuts and bruises already, but nothing enough to slow her down.   
  
Taka, of course, was spotless. That wasn't the point of the fight, though.  
  
He suddenly pounced, bringing the back end of his boomerang swinging forward as he brought it down towards her like a blunt weapon. The moment his paws left the ground, she adjusted her own stance and got ready to dodge to the side if needed. Before that happened, though, she quickly brought up her spear horizontal-wise to intercept his attack. Then she tilted her spear to deflect the attack away from her.  
  
Without missing a beat, Roxy carried the momentum of her block forward and used it to bring her spear around for a jab. Taka saw this and was forced to dodge backwards, away from her. That was a point in her favour.  
  
They had been fighting like this for quite a while, much longer than any of their previous training sessions. She was starting to get quite winded, but she figured that Taka was secretly testing her endurance as well. She knew she would need plenty of stamina to make it through the thick, untamed forest and to run away from foes.  
  
No-one in the crowd made a single sound. None of them dared to create distraction more than what their mere presence already caused. When Roxy caught glimpses of them, though, she could see many wide eyes and impressed looks. A few even seemed to be in disbelief.  
  
 _This is really happening,_ she thought, _I'm…becoming a fighter…and I'm actually doing it!_  
  
A moment later, she quickly scolded herself for getting distracted, even just a little bit. She paid for it a moment later as Taka's boomerang came sailing through the air in an arc, whacking her in the back of her head before returning to its owner.  
  
She growled with determination. She had come too far to leave this fight with her tail between her legs. When Taka then tried to capitalize after his boomerang strike, she was immediately ready for him.   
  
Taka had leapt towards her, ready to swing his boomerang at her like a club some more. Over the course of Taka's lessons, Roxy had come to realize that sometimes, in order to be victorious, one needs to take risks. So, instead of falling back into a defensive position like usual, she took a step forward and met his weapon head-on with her own. There was a resounding _clack_ as the two weapons collided.  
  
Roxy took another step forward, pushing against Taka's boomerang with her spear and forcing him to rebalance his stance. This was something the two of them had done before in training, and Roxy was meant to force Taka's weight off to the side so that he would roll right past her. She had done it multiple times and had eventually gotten somewhat good at it.  
  
Instead, Roxy feigned doing said move, but instead suddenly ducked her head down. Less than a second later, she pulled her spear down as well so that nothing was holding back Taka's boomerang. Before this sudden upset in their little war of attrition could even affect him, Roxy pounced forward and tackled Taka to the ground by wrapping her paws around his midsection. The shock from his Static stung quite a bit, but she ignored it.  
  
Taka took about two seconds to react to being forced onto his back. While not a long period of time, in respect to Taka it was noticeably long. Roxy briefly grinned in satisfaction that she had taken him by surprise, and was then tossed off of him like a ragdoll.   
  
She rolled across the ground and stood up as quickly as she could, shooting the crowd a quick grin. They had all audibly gasped when she had pulled off that move, which was yet another small victory point in her favour.  
  
"Not bad," Taka commented as he sprinted towards her, "Not bad at all!" Taka then leapt into the air, spun around, and aimed a tail swipe directly at her face.  
  
She could have deflected this with her weapon, but she ducked instead. This caused his tail to nick her ears slightly, giving her an interesting buzzing sensation as his Static touched them, but it put her in prime position to jab forward with her own weapon. If her opponent hadn't been Taka, she probably would have hit them.  
  
The crowd was murmuring by now. Another point in her favour. They were all seeing what she could do now. What had changed. With the motivation of truly going home, she had forced herself to learn and to learn well. All of her little worries and anxieties, like not wanting to become a fighter, had been washed away. She had simply told herself, day after day, to learn this stuff.  
  
Sometimes, she didn't even notice how much she had learned. Some of it had started becoming second nature to her. A lot of fighting moves were like weird dances. Watching and practicing over and over again allowed her to see the steps and learn how to do them herself. And, with repetition and constant training, her strength, stamina, dexterity and even reaction time all improved. Practice truly did make perfect.  
  
Now she was holding her own against Taka. She could fight against Taka and not immediately lose! Not even two months ago, she would have thought this completely impossible. Just a few short moons ago, she hadn't been a fighter at _all_. Now though, with her mind focused on a goal that was so real and so, so close, the transformation was happening.   
  
If she could last this long against Taka, the best fighter in the whole tribe, then things were starting to look a lot brighter in her future.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Her future had clouds in it.  
  
Roxy was sitting against one of the trees in the village, paws crossed and rather frustrated.   
  
"I apologize, Roxy," Baza spoke, "I have tried my best…"  
  
She waved her paw. "I know, I know. I'm not mad at you…" she said with a sigh, "Thanks for trying, Baza."  
  
The Pikachu warrior gave her an apologetic shrug before walking off.  
  
Roxy groaned softly and whacked the tree's trunk with her paw in frustration. "What does it matter?" she muttered, "So what if I'm learning to fight and getting better…I'm gonna be stuck here until _some_ one can learn freaking Grass Knot…"  
  
She let out a heavy sigh. She was pretty certain that every single member of the tribe had attempted Grass Knot with her by this point. Even the young cubs who didn't even have a name had tried. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how few distractions there were, no-one could pick up on the natural energy needed to perform the move. It was imperceptible to them.  
  
A heavy feeling of futility was starting to grow within her. All of her accomplishments in combat were starting to feel meaningless in light of this failure. She could see victory and almost reach out and grab it, but without this final step she would never reach it. So, she wondered if it was worth climbing up in the first place.  
  
"Cheer up, Roxy…"  
  
She raised her head and saw Miri approaching her with a gentle smile. The Audino was running her paws through the fur on her head, which was noticeably damp. Along with the direction she was coming from, Roxy surmised that Miri had just been bathing in the river.  
  
"It can't be done," Roxy said, "I'm certain of it. You just can't teach TM Moves…"  
  
Miri reached up with her paws and grasped one of her fluffy ears, carefully but firmly wringing out the excess water. "Look on the bright side," she commented, "The Earth Tribe seems to be long gone, and you have become an excellent fighter, considering where you started from. I know that you do not wish to be here, but things certainly are going rather well for you here at the moment."  
  
Yet another sigh. "I guess…"  
  
"You never know. Perhaps a traveling Pokémon from another tribe will stop by who can learn your technique."  
  
Roxy scoffed. "That'd be my luck. They'd be able to learn the Move, and then they wouldn't stick around."  
  
Miri frowned, wringing out her other ear. "Aw, come now…There is no need to be so sour…"  
  
"Ugh…" Roxy felt like she had every right to be sour. However, she couldn't tell Miri the real reason why. Only she herself knew just how important it was to teach somebody else Grass Knot. If she could accomplish that, she felt like her and Taka's departure could come in only a few days. It felt so  close and yet so far.  
  
"Come on. Irritated is not a good look for you."  
  
Roxy flinched as Miri suddenly patted her on the head.   
  
"Would you like a berry? I think I still have one or two with me."  
  
Glancing up at the Audino and her kind, selfless face made Roxy's anger simmer a little. She let out one more sigh and tried her best to put a smile on her face. "Yeah. Sure, I'd love one."  
  
"Great!" Miri said with a smile. She then reached down with one of her paws, but frowned a moment later. She patted her stomach and sides a few times, getting a rather bewildered look on her face.  
  
"Miri?" Roxy spoke up, "What's wrong?"  
  
"Oh, for heaven's sake…" Miri murmured before turning her head and giving Roxy an apologetic look. She then said, "I must have left my satchel down by the river. It had all the berries in it…"  
  
"Oh. Oh dear…" Roxy replied.  
  
Miri chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry about that. Dear me. I shall go retrieve it, and _then_ you can have a berry. I hope that is agreeable?"  
  
Roxy smiled. "No problem. If you want, I-"  
  
She was cut off however when the two were interrupted by an approaching Pikachu who looked rather worried. "Miri!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Yaga? What is it?" Miri asked.  
  
"Bamaka was sparring in the training area and he's been hurt. We need you!"  
  
"Oh goodness."  
  
Roxy got to her paws and gasped. "Oh no! Is he okay?" she asked, "Nothing serious I hope…"  
  
"It is not serious, thank heavens," Yaga replied, "but he does require your attention, Miri."  
  
"Of course, of course. I will be right there," Miri replied, and then Yaga nodded and dashed off. Miri then turned to regard Roxy. "I am so sorry, but would you mind doing me a favour?"  
  
"You want me to go pick up your satchel?" Roxy replied, anticipating the request, "Sure. Absolutely. Just go and make sure he's okay."  
  
Miri nodded. "Thank you." She then offered Roxy a reassuring smile. "I am sure he will be fine, but tending to injuries sooner rather than later is important."  
  
"Yeah, it's no problem. I'll go get it."  
  
"Okay. I will see you soon, young one."  
  
The two gave each other a quick wave, and then Miri turned and ran off. Roxy watched her for a moment. She felt a little twinge of worry about the wellbeing of one of her friends, but neither of the two had sounded all that worried about him. Miri would just be there to make sure things went swimmingly.  
  
Speaking of swimming, Roxy nodded to herself and picked up her spear. She then quickly dashed off, heading for the bathing spot at the river. She had come to develop a rather keen sense of direction when it came to the village and what surrounded it, and could easily determine which direction was the right way.   
  
She felt the spear, attached to her backside with a couple of vines and easily within her reach. Most of the villagers walked around while carrying weapons, even within the safety of the village, and so Roxy had begun to adopt that trait. Even now, going to a place where she had once been attacked, she didn't even spare a single thought towards having to use it. It was just important to have it there, and she knew this.  
  
Admittedly, one of the things Roxy still struggled with was running at full speed with a piece of wood and rock strapped to her back. She was doing her best to get better at it.  
  
In no time at all, she had reached the bathing area. This had been the very first place that she had ever felt comfortable being alone in besides the village centre or her hut. Not a single incident had occurred here since the Mightyena that had attacked her, not to her or to anybody else.   
  
Roxy approached the water's edge and came to a stop. She glanced around for a bit before finally spotting the satchel sitting a few yards away. She quickly padded over and picked it up, and then slung it over her shoulder.  
  
As she turned around to head back, she found herself pausing once she was facing the water's edge. She stepped closer and leaned forward, looking down at her reflection in the gently flowing water. Roxy was a little surprised to see herself. She looked a lot different than before. There were tribal markings on her fur, a leaf-woven satchel around her neck, and a spear strapped to her back. She even looked more fit than before.  
  
Her ears twitched.  
  
Roxy froze as her heart dropped like a rock. Worry and panic immediately tried to assert themselves. Everything was now focused entirely on what she had just heard.  
  
Something was behind her.  
  
There was a perfectly good chance that it was just someone from the Thunder Tribe approaching behind her. Raichu especially could be very light on their paws. However, something in her gut told her that this wasn't the case. Something _else_ was behind her.  
  
She tensed up, but focused on keeping herself from locking up completely. An overwhelming sense of dread and panic was there on the horizon, slowly slipping into her. It was happening again. Something was about to attack her at the river again, in the very same spot.  
  
The sound of a pair of paws on the grass, more noticeable this time.  
  
Roxy made a snap decision. She reached up with one paw, gripped her spear, and then turned completely around whilst drawing it.   
  
Not a millisecond passed between her turning to face her foe, and just barely being able to bring her spear up in time to block. She intercepted the pair of paws that were pouncing at her, stopping them from reaching her but knocking her off balance. She staggered back a few steps as her foe righted itself on the ground.  
  
Time caught up with her and she immediately panicked for a brief moment over what she had just done. If she hadn't blocked, then she would've been slammed to the ground under her foe's heavy weight and sharp claws.   
  
A second wave of panic flowed through her as she got a good look at her opponent, her pupils shrinking to dots. "What the hell?!" she exclaimed, taking a cautious step back.   
  
A large, quadrupedal Pokémon was standing before her. It had strong-looking limbs, a long tail, and fluffy fur that got particularly thick around its neck. It was also completely coloured black from head to tail, like something had just been covered in crude oil. It looked nothing at all like any of the seven hundred plus known Pokémon that Roxy knew about.  
  
It quickly became apparent that none of that was important. What she needed to focus on was the Pokémon's razor-sharp claws, razor-sharp teeth, and very _hungry_ look in its eyes.  
  
Time slowed down as Roxy suddenly found herself back in that same old nightmare that she had faced many times before. Something that wanted her dead was standing a few feet away and staring right at her. Whatever this Pokémon was, it looked like it was stronger, faster and bigger than she was by far. She could feel panic and spikes of anxiety consuming her entire body, freezing her on the spot. Her heart thumped like wild against her chest and she could barely breathe.  
  
The Pokémon pounced, landed just before her, and took a swipe at her with its paw.  
  
Roxy took a step back and lowered herself slightly, swiftly bringing her spear up lengthwise to catch the paw before it could connect with her. The impact sent a jolt through her whole body, but the attack was blocked.   
  
The Pokémon attacked with its other paw, but Roxy quickly shifted herself around so she could properly block that strike as well.  
  
A horrible, tense, feeling was running right up her spine. Her eyes were wide, sweat was dripping from her, and she couldn't help but let out a few panicked whines. No-one was there. No Pokémon was coming to help her. She was all alone against this deadly beast, whatever it was.  
  
There was no time to think about that. It was pouncing. It was going to bite her head right off. She quickly ducked herself down and held up her spear horizontally. It caught the creature right between its teeth, allowing her to give a push forward and shove it off to the side. While it tried to regain its balance, she gave a quick jab with the handle of the spear towards its face, not hitting it but causing it to flinch.  
  
 _Hey…I'm doing it…_  
  
Roxy jumped just in time to avoid a paw swipe. A second swipe, higher up, nearly connected with her before she could stumble back. The fur on her chest tickled from the rush of air and it sent chills down her spine.   
  
Roxy was still _terrified_.  
  
As she took a few more steps back to distance herself from her foe, she vaguely realized that she had been crying. Her cheeks were soaking wet from her tears. Taka's words rang through her head, though. She knew that she was terrified and it was okay to be, but it couldn't control her. The moment she let her fear get control, she would be dead.  
  
She circled back a little bit, getting further from the river. The beast prowled along after her, keeping her in its vicious sight. It quickly jumped a few feet forward and then raised its paw to strike down on her.   
  
Roxy screamed in terror. She also swung her spear and batted the paw away. Sweat ran down her trembling body as she took a daring step forwards and jabbed the spear right towards its other paw. The creature was forced to retreat to avoid getting punctured.  
  
Where was everybody? Why wasn't anyone on patrol coming to help her?  
  
She jumped high in the air to avoid another claw swipe from the jet black predator. Fear had a vice grip on her heart, causing an almost painful sensation in her chest, but she tried as much as she could to stay focused. She had learned how to deal with this. She had spent days and days learning this stuff.  
  
Another successful block. Roxy's mind began to race. Her Electric Moves still weren't good enough. She didn't know what type this strange Pokémon was, so her Grass Knot probably wouldn't be very useful. What she wouldn't give to have someone, _any_ one here to help her fend this thing off.  
  
Roxy was close to hyperventilating by now, but she couldn't let that defeat her either. The Pokémon darted forward and made another vicious swipe at her, but she ducked down and blocked this as well. She made a jab to counterattack, but it missed her foe entirely. She was barely able to bring her spear back to block the next strike.  
  
This thing was a lot bigger and stronger than her. She had to end this now, or it would end _her_.  
  
As she continued to warily circle around the Pokémon, she saw what was probably her only chance. When the Pokémon made to attack her again, she chose to block with a swinging strike instead of holding her spear up. This forced the Pokémon to step back so it wouldn't be hit by the sharp point of her spear.  
  
That's when Roxy took her daring move. Before her opponent could try anything else she quickly leapt forward right towards it. Her panic spiked while she was in the air, and her mind told her that she had just killed herself. A terrified scream escaped her throat, but she was still able to deliver a kick right into the Pokémon's muzzle. It cried out in pain, flinching back and holding a paw up to its nose. When Roxy landed, she then performed one of the most recent moves she had learned from Taka. With a quick jump and a twist of her body, she backflipped in the air and whacked the Pokémon under its chin with her tail.  
  
She deftly landed just in time to see the creature rear up on its hind legs, grasping at its injured muzzle. On the one paw, this made it _significantly larger than her_ , giving her a moment of feeling small and powerless. She shook that off though, because she knew she only needed to do one more thing right to end this.  
  
While the Pokémon was still unbalanced, Roxy struck. She let out a shout that was somewhere between a war cry and a panicked scream, dashed forward, and _jabbed_ the butt end of her spear right into the Pokémon's stomach.  
  
It immediately recoiled in pain from having such a tender spot struck. It teetered back for a moment on its hind paws, let out a short, distressed cry, and then a moment later it lost its balance. The Pokémon fell over backwards and splashed down hard into the river.   
  
Run. Run! _Run!!_ This was the moment when she was supposed to run, but Roxy found she couldn't. Her paws were frozen, thanks to a deep-seeded fear of turning her back on the Pokémon, even while it was submerged under the river. It took her far too long to convince herself to finally move, and even then she just ended up walking backwards somewhat quickly.  
  
The Pokémon resurfaced a moment later, letting out a gasp of air. It shook its head, flinging water off of its fur in every direction.  
  
As well as its black colour.  
  
Dumbfounded, Roxy stopped moving. She watched as the Pokémon sat there in the river, all of the black colour draining off of its fur and making a trail of black that swam down the river. Underneath, the Pokémon's grey, blue and yellow fur was revealed. Including its spiky mane and distinctive star-shaped tail.  
  
"… _Adi?!_ "  
  
The Luxray, now fully revealed, shot her a grin. "Not bad," he commented, "I can honestly say I did not expect that."  
  
Roxy's brain was broken. She could tell. On the computer screen in her mind, there was nothing but a blue screen with garbled text. She blinked her eyes a ridiculous amount of times, but the inexplicable image remained in front of her. That terrifying, horrifying Pokémon had somehow traded places with Adi while under the water.  
  
"…Buh…?"  
  
She then nearly jumped right out of her skin as an uproarious applause suddenly filled the forest air. She whipped her head around behind her, finding a huge group of Thunder Clan villagers stepping out from behind the trees, all of them clapping their paws. All of her close friends were there, Taka was there, the wise ones were there.  
  
"Congratulations, Roxy!" Miri said with a big smile on her face, "Well done!"  
  
Roxy, only getting more confused by the second, shifted her gaze between all of the applauding Pokémon. They all had happy smiles on their faces. She, meanwhile, was still stuck holding her spear in a defensive position.  
  
"I am impressed," Taka said as he stepped forward and gave her a single pat on the back. There was a splashing noise as Adi climbed out of the river and shook off the rest of the water on his fur.  
  
"Wuh…" Roxy shook her head and then shouted, "What's going on?!"  
  
A few of the villagers laughed at her reaction, only confusing her even more.   
  
"This was a test, Roxy," Miri said, "and you performed wonderfully!"  
  
"What??"  
  
"You have been doing very well in your training," Taka said, causing her to shift her attention back to him, "You have learned a lot and improved your skills. You have even performed well in battle against myself and others in this tribe." He then held up his paw and a single digit. "However," he continued, "I needed to see if you had yet reached a point where you could still use these skills in an unexpected and stressful situation."  
  
"We all worked together with Taka to set this whole thing up," Karizu spoke, "You were never in any real danger."  
  
"I left my satchel here on purpose," Miri added, "and the others pretended there was a medical problem."  
  
Roxy stared off into space for a moment, trying to shift gears and process this properly. She slowly glanced over at Adi, who was now completely free of his black pigment. "That was…Adi…the whole time?" Roxy murmured in disbelief.  
  
Adi nodded and gestured towards the water, still tainted black slightly. "It is the same paint as our marks, but with a different colour," he explained.  
  
"And more water in the mixture, so that it would wash off easier," Karizu added.  
  
That terrifying, horrible black-coloured Pokémon had been Adi? Roxy thought back to her encounter, and even still she couldn't connect the two. She hadn't recognized the Luxray even in the slightest.  
  
Miri patted her on the back, jolting her out of her stupor. "You passed, Roxy! You performed well beyond our expectations."  
  
"I…did?" she asked. Then, she thought back to the fight she'd just had against the disguised Adi. It was a fight she had _won_. She had been utterly terrified and suffering from an overload of anxiety the whole time, but she had still managed to overcome that and use all of the skills she had learned. "I…I did!" she repeated, this time with more certainty.  
  
"Well done, Roxy," Taka said simply.  
  
She started smiling brightly. "I did it!!" she exclaimed, "I can't believe it! I did it!!"  
  
The crowd erupted into applause once more, and Roxy couldn't stop herself from throwing her paws into the air and jumping around excitedly. She whooped in delight, more proud of herself than she had ever been before.  
  
This was it. This was the next checkmark. True, the whole thing had been staged, but Roxy had completely believed that this encounter had been real. If an actual wild Pokémon had attacked, Roxy would have reacted in the same way.  
  
And she had _won_!  
  
"You have come such a long way, Roxy!" Miri cheered, hopping over to give her a hug.  
  
"Yaaaay!!" she yelled, "This is so awesome!!"  
  
All along the way, even when Roxy had been doing well, she'd always had doubts about herself. No matter how good she got at fighting, some part of her brain always said that she would never be good enough to go home. Today was the biggest blow she had ever dealt against that anxious part of herself. She had faced off against one of the toughest and strongest members of the clan. She doubted Adi would have actually hurt her, but she hadn't even gotten touched by his paws at all. She had done it all by herself, and even in spite of that, she knew that she would have Taka with her on the journey through the forest. Roxy's optimism went through the roof.  
  
"Wooo!! Taka!!" she exclaimed, bounding over and giving the stoic Pikachu a huge hug against his will.  
  
"Hey! Stop it, pet…"  
  
Roxy released him and jumped up excitedly a few more times. "Oh my gosh," she gushed, "We can totally do it, Taka! We can make it all the way through the forest now. I _know_ it!"  
  
A moment later, a hush fell over most of the crowd. Cheers and applause turned into confused murmuring. It took Roxy a second to realize what she had just said. She gasped, eyes wide open, and clasped her paws over her mouth.   
  
Her eyes slowly roamed the crowd. She saw many of the Thunder Clan members glancing at one another with concerned looks, most of them muttering things to one another. She saw Karizu and Natoka, looking at her in shock and disbelief. She then turned her head back and looked at Taka, who had his paw pressed up against his face in exasperation.  
  
"Um…" she squeaked, "…Oops?"


	22. Tensions Rising

Roxy sat on a low branch in a tree in the middle of the village, twiddling her paws anxiously.  
  
She could hear yelling.  
  
Well, perhaps it couldn't really be called yelling as much as 'heated discussion', but nonetheless she could hear it despite how far she was from the wise ones' mound. She could hear them quite well. Even though she couldn't hear their words, it wasn't hard to imagine what words they were saying.  
  
The wise ones weren't happy.  
  
Roxy sighed, feeling a cool breeze pass over her. She was pretty down in the dumps. She was the one who had accidentally let it slip that she and Taka were going to leave, and yet Taka was the one they kept yelling at. No-one had said a single cross word to her. It made her feel guilty.  
  
Taka, on the other paw, wasn't speaking a single word to her at all. Whenever they crossed paths, he would ignore her questions and just give her a disapproving glare. He was obviously upset with her, but it was so much worse because he didn't say anything. His anger seemed loudest when expressed in silence.  
  
This was bound to happen sooner or later, after all. Roxy knew that they weren't going to just sneak out of the village randomly one day without telling anybody. The truth would have come out eventually, but Roxy had said it too early. She didn't pretend to understand the reasons Taka had for holding off on the reveal, but she had still dropped the ball.  
  
Roxy closed her eyes and leaned against the tree's trunk, feeling low. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Going home was supposed to be a moment of happiness and triumph. Instead, it seemed like the whole village was ticked off.  
  
Karizu said something angrily in the distance. Natoka half-yelled something. It was usually Natoka that she could hear.  
  
Roxy remembered this TV show her master used to watch about young human girls in school. In a few episodes, they had been sent to the principal's office to get yelled at for doing something wrong. Roxy felt like she was waiting outside the village's own principal's office, and yet she was never called in.   
  
No-one was really talking to her, but then no-one was really being standoffish to her either. It seemed like the village as a whole didn't know how to feel about her leaving. Taka, however, she could tell that no-one wanted him to leave.  
  
She had been listening to the wise ones argue with Taka for more than an hour at this point. That is, if it could even be called arguing. Roxy hadn't heard a word from Taka, though perhaps he was just speaking low enough that his voice didn't carry. Either way, she hadn't heard him shout.  
  
Roxy let out a hollow sigh, wishing she could cheer herself up. A part of her wanted to go over and listen to what the wise ones and Taka were talking about, but instead she just continued to sit there and ruminate. She began to worry what would happen if Taka was prevented from leaving. Would someone else be able to get her out of the forest?  
  
She was starting to feel run down. It just seemed like setback after setback, almost as if the universe wanted to keep her there in the village for some reason. Roxy had lost track of how long she'd been lost in the forest, but she knew two whole seasons had passed. She dismally wondered if she would still be in the forest by the time it saw snow once more.  
  
Her ears perked up as the voices began to grow louder. Was the arguing getting even worse? As she turned her head around to look behind her, she saw that wasn't the case. The voices were simply drawing closer to her.  
  
Taka was marching along through the trees, looking straight ahead with a stoic, almost neutral look on his face. Roxy couldn't tell if he was irritated beyond belief and simply keeping his feelings bottled up inside, or just simply bored.  
  
Following behind him were Karizu and Natoka, both of them saying things in rather heated tones. "You know you have responsibilities," Natoka practically shouted, "You can ignore us, but you cannot ignore them this time!"  
  
Roxy gasped quietly to herself. Had Taka just up and walked away in the middle of an argument?  
  
"Taka, be sensible," Karizu spoke. His voice was not quite as heated as his companion's. "There is a reason we forbade you to leave last time, and the reason has not changed. Your decision to abandon us last time does not paint you favourably either…"  
  
Her eyes then opened wider as she remembered what she had been told about Taka's last journey. She had forgotten that Taka had just left in the middle of the night, not even saying goodbye to his own brother.  
  
"You _do_ realize that this is not a time to be letting our guard down?" Natoka barked.  
  
"Our tribe has seen victory recently, yes, but victory and security never last forever."  
  
Still, Taka simply continued to walk without saying anything. He wasn't even walking very quickly, but it was as if the two Raichu behind him didn't exist.  
  
Natoka threw up his paws in exasperation and let out a huff of frustration. "Very well," he spat, "Go home. Do not bother giving us any respect, despite how much respect has always been given to you. The patrol members will not let you leave, in any case." The Raichu then turned and stormed off.  
  
Karizu remained behind, still trailing Taka. "This would be a lot easier if you were more open to discussion," he commented, "Our decision would likely not change, but perhaps a compromise could be reached?"  
  
Roxy didn't hear any more as the two moved out of her range of hearing. She was frowning even more now having witnessed that exchange. Taka was pretty much being a jerk to the two wise ones, but at the same time, it was his position that she sided with. She wanted to go home, but not if it meant breaking everybody's trust and abandoning them. She cared for the Pokémon in this village.  
  
Then, both her eyes and her mind began to drift. She thought about how much she did care about the Thunder Clan. She had gotten to know so many of them very closely, and most of the village she would happily call her friends. She had become best friends with Miri, as well as great friends with the likes of Bamaka, Adi and his family, Roma'a and many more.   
  
It hadn't really occurred to her until now. When she finally achieved her goal and escaped from the forest, she would be leaving them all behind. Once she made it home, she would probably never see anyone from the Thunder Clan ever again.  
  
The thought left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.  
  
She sat up there for a while more, though nothing else of interest happened. When she finally started to get restless, she climbed down from the tree and took a slow walk around the village.   
  
What was to be done now? What was the next step? As she thought about it, she realized that one thing hadn't changed. She still had an unmet goal that was preventing her from leaving, even if the wise ones said it was okay. She _still_ needed to teach someone Grass Knot.  
  
Roxy kicked a pebble and watched it bounce away. The teaching of Grass Knot had been eating away at her mind. She was starting to run out of ideas, since it looked like no-one would be able to learn the Move.   
  
Was Taka still mad at her, though? Was he mad at her at all? She had goofed up, but was he still going to train with her and work towards getting her home? A horrible sinking feeling overcame her as she thought about the possibility that he wouldn't _want_ to take her anymore.  
  
Roxy shook her head to clear away those dark thoughts. Taka wasn't petty like that. Even if she had royally ticked him off, that was no reason for him to go back on his word. It was silly to think like that in any case, since Taka wanted to leave the village anyway.  
  
Eventually, her wayward paws took her back to her hut. Her mood hadn't gotten much better, and she ended up just sitting on the floor and sulking. "Why do things always go wrong…?" she muttered to herself, "Can't I just catch a break? Just once?"  
  
She sighed heavily and glanced around. Being in such a depressed mood was digging up old wounds. She found herself painfully reminded that this used to be Makari's hut, and she had shared it with him. Such wonderful times she had shared with him. One of the happiest moments of her whole life had happened right where she was sitting now.  
  
Roxy hugged herself and let out a distressed whine. In her current state, she started to miss Makari a lot more. Old dark thoughts started returning to her, threatening to make her cry again.   
  
"What would you tell me?" she asked to the air around her, "What…what would you do?" She glanced up, as if looking at someone who was not actually there. "Would you have taken me home? If…If I can't teach Grass Knot to anyone…would you still take me home?" She closed her eyes, a single tear running down her cheeks. "Would you…have come home _with_ me?" She sniffled. "…And stayed?"  
  
No answer came to her, no matter how hard she hoped that she would somehow hear one.   
  
"I gotta keep trying…" she said to herself, though she didn't have much conviction in her voice, "If stuff goes wrong, I can't just stop…Master is waiting for me…"  
  
Roxy unceremoniously flopped down onto her side, a heavy frown on her face.  
  
"…I hope…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"…Miri?"  
  
The Audino glanced up, slightly surprised from the sound of somebody at her door. "Oh! Roxy, I did not hear you…"  
  
Roxy glanced in Mareepishly, not saying anything.  
  
"…Is something wrong?" Miri asked, "Come in, come in. Talk to me."  
  
Nodding softly, Roxy stepped past the leaves in the doorway and entered the Audino's hut. She walked forward until she was in front of Miri and stood there for a moment, glancing off to the side and fiddling with her paws. Finally, she sighed and asked her question.  
  
"Is the tribe mad at me?"  
  
"What??" Miri blurted out. Then she shook her head and composed herself. "No. No, heavens no… Why would you even think that?"  
  
"Everyone's lookin' at me weird…"  
  
"Aw, Roxy…" Miri said as she walked over and gave Roxy a quick hug, "No-one is mad at you. You have done nothing wrong. It is just that things are…tense, I suppose."  
  
"Because Taka wants to leave and I stupidly said it out loud?"  
  
"Well, I think many of us are actually _grateful_ that you said it out loud," Miri said with a wry chuckle. When Roxy's expression didn't brighten at all, Miri invited her to come and sit next to her, which she did.  
  
"I remember when he left…the first time," Miri explained, "First, everybody panicked. Then, everybody was worried. We thought he had been killed or abducted. Search parties were sent out to look for him, and none returned with success. There was even…a funeral for him. It was not until a nomadic Pokémon was passing peacefully through our borders that we learned the truth. The passing Pokémon told us that he had seen Taka, traveling in the opposite direction.  
  
"So, to round things out, everybody was angry and upset. The whole tribe felt like Taka had abandoned us, and in a way he had. We felt as if he had just casually cast aside his entire family as if we were nothing. We had lost one of our finest warriors, and everybody was concerned. All in all, there was a horrible sense of betrayal that hovered above the village."  
  
Miri then turned to look Roxy in the eye. "No-one wants that to happen again."  
  
Roxy didn't reply, but she did nod in understanding.  
  
"I think the village is angry at Taka, not at you. You are merely…how shall I say…associated?"  
  
"Is that really any better?" Roxy muttered.  
  
Miri patted Roxy on the back. "Young one," she spoke, "Everybody here knows you plan to go home. No-one has once believed that you would stay here forever. It is not a surprise that you are leaving. It _is_ a surprise that Taka is leaving _again_."  
  
Roxy whined softly.  
  
"It is simply that looking at you reminds them of Taka."  
  
"I guess…" Roxy mumbled, shrugging softly.  
  
"Cheer up, Roxy. It is not as if you are leaving this coming night or anything."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "No, definitely not. We're not ready…"  
  
"Right." She then smiled. "It is a nice warm day outside. Take a walk and clear your mind. Things are uncertain right now, but just remember that we are not mad at you."  
  
Getting to her paws, Roxy glanced up at the Audino. "Are you sure…?"  
  
"I am positive."  
  
Roxy then smiled half-heartedly. "Okay then. Thanks for this."  
  
"Any time, Roxy."  
  
She waved goodbye to the village healer, and then turned around and exited the hut. She was greeted with the warm spring air. Miri was right; it was definitely a nice day. She took in a deep breath of the fresh air and tried to calm her anxious nerves.   
  
Truly, she didn't feel that much better about herself. Even if they weren't mad at her, Roxy still felt upset that everybody was mad at Taka. Was Taka therefore mad at everybody else? Roxy didn't want anybody to be mad. They were supposed to be happy and proud of her for finally being able to go home.  
  
"Who'm I kidding…?" she whispered, "I'm never goin' home…No-one can learn Grass Knot."  
  
She walked sullenly away from Miri's hut and past many other huts and treehouses. There were lots of Pokémon out and about, but Roxy didn't pay much attention to any of them. Her mood was simply too sour to care.  
  
"Raaaawr!!"  
  
Something suddenly latched onto her back, causing her to cry out in surprise. She quickly dropped down onto all fours and tried to reach for her spear, but whoever had jumped her was preventing her from reaching it. Her panic spiked, so she did the only other thing she could think of to get her attacker off. She let out another loud cry, and then rolled onto her side to try and dislodge the other Pokémon.  
  
She ended up on her back, panting and sweating. Her attacker then leaned over and looked down at her. He flashed her a grin and laughed at her, causing her to let out a huge breath of relief.  
  
"Adikai!" she said in a scolding tone, "What was that for? You scared me half to death!!"  
  
The young Shinx laughed again. "I am practicing my great skills! Father says I excel at pouncing!"  
  
"No kidding…" Roxy murmured as she stood herself up and brushed the dust off of her fur.  
  
"What did you think?" Adikai asked, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.  
  
Roxy briefly thought of scolding him further for scaring her like that, but her mood quickly softened. She gave him a smile instead. "It was very good," she said to him, "I didn't even hear you coming from behind me."  
  
Adikai grinned widely in triumph. "Yes!!"  
  
Watching the exuberant little cub, Roxy let out a tiny sigh. At least some folks in this village hadn't changed much since the 'news'. Adikai was just as adorable as ever.  
  
"I cannot wait! I am so excited!" Adikai continued to gush, "They have no choice but to recognize my great pouncing skills!"  
  
Roxy chuckled and reached over to tousle the fur on his head. "Excited for what?" she asked him.  
  
"The next Marking Ceremony!" he replied excitedly, "I am going to receive my name!!"  
  
"Really?" Roxy asked, eyes widening a bit from the news, "That's great! Congratulations!"  
  
"Yes! I am finally strong enough! I shall receive a strong, courageous name and a mark as the best pouncer in the forest!"  
  
Roxy glanced down at the little Shinx cub, hopping around like there were springs on his paws. The more she looked, the more she realized that Adikai really wasn't a 'little Shinx cub' anymore. It had been just a few short months, but he had grown up a fair bit. Marks were so prevalent throughout the tribe that Roxy sometimes forgot that cubs didn't have any, as with Adikai standing before her.  
  
"That's awesome, Adikai. I'm sure you'll get the perfect name." She smiled sweetly. "Your mother and father must be very proud."  
  
That quieted the young Shinx down a little bit. "I…hope so," he said, a tad wistfully, "Father never gives praise where praise is not deserved." He paused and then added, "I will not know if he is proud until the mark is on my fur."  
  
"Aww, c'mon now. No matter what mark you get, what name you get…even if he doesn't show it, Adi is definitely proud of you. You're his son!" She grinned at him, hoping he believed her words. Knowing Adi, though, she wasn't completely sure she believed them herself.  
  
Adikai, now completely quiet and reserved, scuffed his paw in the dirt and turned his gaze up at her. "Roxy?" he spoke, a hopeful look in his eyes, "You…will be there…right?"  
  
Roxy blinked at him. "What d'you mean…?" she asked, confused, "Of course I will be there. It's your big day! How could I miss it?"  
  
Adikai glanced away. "Everybody says you are going to leave us…"   
  
Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh! Ohhh, I see…" She skewed her lips a little, realizing what he meant. Did the villagers think she was going to be leaving that quickly? Perhaps they were all assuming things about her and Taka.  
  
She bent down closer to his eye level and shook her head. "No, no. I'm not leaving yet," she explained, "Either way, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't miss your ceremony for anything, Adikai!"  
  
That made the little Shinx brighten up a little. "Really? You mean it?"  
  
Roxy nodded and smiled cheerfully. "Yup! I promise I'll be there, okay?"  
  
"Yay!" Adikai jumped up excitedly. "Thank you, Roxy!"  
  
"No problem. I can't wait to find out what your name will be."  
  
"Neither can I!"  
  
"I will have to get used to calling you by a different name."  
  
Adikai gave her a big toothy grin. "Okay! I will see you there!"  
  
Roxy nodded and gave him a wave as he ran off. "Bye!"  
  
Once the cub had gone, she set off on her stroll once more. She had a little more pep in her step, the Shinx having uplifted her spirits a little. Things didn't seem as bad as she was making them out to be. She still had the same goal and the same obstacle to get through, and if Taka ended up not being able to go, then that would just be one more obstacle to get through.  
  
Now, with her mood climbing higher, she was able to look back and see all of the obstacles that she had already conquered. Her anxiety usually meant that those accomplishments were clouded over by thoughts of all her failures and problems. It was unfortunately the way her brain worked, but when she was in a good mood those clouds shifted away.  
  
Roxy had managed to escape death multiple times. Even faced against the Zangoose, she had managed to hold out long enough for Makari and Taka to rescue her, thanks to her swift paws and quick thinking. She had made plenty of friends in this village, and she had eventually managed to learn basic combat. She had even managed to save the village from an invasion of Ground-Types once. It was strange how easily she forgot about that.  
  
Roxy's idle paws took her back to the training area, now quite familiar to her. She had spent more time in this place than she had ever thought she would by leagues. Glancing at the targets and the training weapons laying around, she already started thinking about what she could do with them. Skills she had not had when she had first arrived.  
  
As she wandered into the training area, she really thought about the Pikachu she had been the last time she had been in her master's company. What was her master going to say about her now?  
  
"Enough. _Enough._ I am sick and tired of listening to your endless voice."  
  
Roxy's ears perked as she heard the approach of someone talking. She turned her head, realizing that it was someone walking past the back side of the training area, and they would be passing behind the tree she was standing in front of.  
  
"But, Taka-"  
  
" _Stop,_ " said the voice that Roxy realized belonged to Taka. She gasped and held still.  
  
"Do not take that sort of tone with us," Natoka's voice warned him.  
  
There was a short, tense pause before Taka spoke up once more. "Do you not understand…what she is going through?"  
  
Roxy's paws shot up to her mouth to stifle the gasp. He was talking about _her_ to the wise ones!  
  
"What?" Karizu replied, confused.  
  
"Have you once taken the time to stop and think about what is going on inside of her head?"  
  
"Well-"  
  
"Put yourself in her paws for a moment. Think _carefully_ about what has happened to her."  
  
Roxy was frozen in place, unable to stop herself from eavesdropping on this conversation. Taka's voice was so calm, never shouting, but there was a certain intensity to his voice that made even her shiver.  
  
"Do either of you know just how badly she wants to go home? How it eats away at her day and night, knowing she cannot? No. You do not. No-one in this village can understand that, because none of you have ever felt it before.  
  
"Everyone here has lived in this village their whole life. You do not know the sensation of wanting to go home because you have _always been home_. No matter what you do or where you roam, you are always a paw's length away from home. Not a single one of you can imagine what it feels like because none of you have left."  
  
There was a pregnant pause before he continued. "I have felt that longing," he commented, "I can safely say mine was not as strong as hers, but I still felt that desire to go back home when I was gone. I understand the sensation of being away, and a part of your heart and soul always wants to go back."  
  
Silence reigned for a moment before Karizu spoke. "Taka, we understand-"  
  
"No," Taka cut him off, but without raising his voice, "You do not. Neither of you can truly empathize with Roxy. Your decisions regarding her will always be biased."  
  
"Have you not been listening?" Natoka cut in somewhat gruffly, "We have no issue with Roxy leaving. It is your abandoning of this tribe, for a _second_ time no less, that-"  
  
"Yet, I seem to be the only one willing to bring her home."  
  
A few silent seconds passed, but neither Raichu seemed to have an answer for that.  
  
"If you will excuse me," Taka said, and then Roxy heard his pawsteps leading away.   
  
After a moment that lasted a little too long, the two Raichu once more gave pursuit. "Taka, wait! Do not walk away from us!"  
  
When they were gone, Roxy was still. She was so touched by what she had just heard that she didn't know what to do with herself. She had never heard Taka talk about her like that before, not even to her own face. Did Taka really feel that way, or was he just trying to persuade the wise ones to let him go? Either way, it was a side of Taka she had never seen before.  
  
With a warm, somewhat bittersweet smile, Roxy held on to the hope that it was the former.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
A few days passed, and nothing much happened.   
  
The wise ones were still forbidding Taka to leave, but he didn't seem to be intending to rush off without their approval either. He had become a little bit distant from Roxy, but it wasn't like he was outright avoiding her. Roxy knew that he had a lot on his mind probably, so she didn't mind.  
  
He wasn't the only one with a lot on his mind, though.   
  
As the noonday sun passed overhead, its light filtering down through the trees, Roxy was seated at the bank of the river a fair distance away from the bathing area. She was trying to relax and calm her restless mind, letting the smell and the sound of the river soothe her weary head.  
  
It was also an exercise she had imposed on herself. Both a spear and a bow and arrow were on the ground next to her. Though she was still well within the area where Thunder Clan patrols covered, she was still purposefully putting herself in a less than secure place. If she was to go marching through enemy territory with Taka on her way out of the forest, she needed to be more comfortable in unsafe environments so that she could focus on defending herself when and if something went wrong.  
  
It was going well. She felt tense, but just enough so that she was aware of her surroundings and could reach for a weapon at the drop of a hat.   
  
Roxy was depressed, though. She had no idea what was going to happen next, but she also really wanted to find out whatever it was. It felt like she was stuck in limbo at the moment, hovering aimlessly between paths that she could be led down. The atmosphere was so tense, and she was getting tired of it.  
  
The worst part was that she was starting to wonder if not going home was the right idea after all. Hovering around her were worrying thoughts that she just wasn't meant to go home, and that her new place in life was here. Perhaps that's just the way life was meant to go and, no matter how awful it made her feel, it was just something she had to accept.  
  
Roxy quickly shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. "I gotta go home…" she whispered to herself, "I gotta go home. No matter the cost, I gotta go home…" She clenched her eyes shut. "I can't stay out here forever…I just can't…I need to get back to master…"  
  
"Pet."  
  
Two things happened simultaneously. Roxy's heart jumped into her throat so hard it felt like it was going to get stuck there, and she swiftly stood up on her paws and swiveled around 180 degrees, picking up her spear along the way.   
  
She relaxed once she saw who it was. "Oh," she said after letting out a breath of relief, "Hello, Natoka."  
  
The Raichu simply nodded in answer, his forelimbs crossed and a nonplussed look on his face.  
  
Roxy frowned. Of all the company she could have wished for, Natoka was on the bottom of the list. It wasn't that she disliked him, but he seemed to really dislike her. The two had never really gotten along, he had always looked down at her with an angry expression on his muzzle, and he was by far the most volatile of the Thunder Clan members when it came to emotions. If someone was yelling, then it was probably Natoka.  
  
She had never really tried to get along with Natoka, as opposed to what she had done with other more distant villagers such as Taka, mostly because he frightened her. As would probably be the case for the rest of her life, Roxy was still a little bit frightened of Raichu. Natoka, especially, was frightening to her because of all the old scars on his body. Every time she looked at the thunderbolt shape on his tail, half of it bitten off, a shiver ran up her spine. She couldn't imagine going through something like that.  
  
Natoka simply gazed at her with a slightly furrowed brow and a frown on his lips. He didn't seem happy to see her, but then again he never seemed happy. Roxy had done her best to keep distant from him, and likewise, he had seemingly done the same. Yet, here he was, all by himself.  
  
Roxy gulped, and then spoke to him. "Can I…help you?"  
  
The Raichu just stood there, staring at her. He stood there without moving or saying anything for a good two or three minutes, making Roxy feel more and more uncomfortable. Was he mad at her? Had she done something wrong? What did he want?!  
  
"Umm…Is this your spot…or something?" she asked somewhat timidly.  
  
"I understand that you are planning to travel to the forest's edge with Taka."  
  
She flinched slightly, having not expected his sudden answer. She gulped once more upon hearing the touchy subject, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Yeah…I, um…Sorta…"  
  
Natoka narrowed his eyes just slightly, but only for a few seconds. He shifted his weight onto his other hind paw, and then spoke once more. "I also understand that neither of you are leaving until someone in this village learns your…power."  
  
Roxy frowned once more. "Yeah…" she lamented, "Taka was pretty serious about that. I've tried teaching…almost everybody in this whole tribe. It's not working."  
  
Again, Natoka was silent for a relatively long while, making Roxy squirm. His presence was so intimidating that she wished he would just say his piece and get it over with.  
  
"I see," he said at last, "That is certainly commendable…if nothing else." He then took a few steps over to the side and sat down, facing Roxy.  
  
"Teach me," he said.  
  
Roxy nearly did a double take. "Wh- Huh?"  
  
He didn't repeat himself.  
  
"You…" Roxy mumbled, "You want to try to learn Grass Knot?" she asked. Then, after a moment's thought, she realized that Natoka was the only one she had never tried teaching. It had completely slipped her mind.  
  
"Whether or not Taka leaves, which he cannot," Natoka said, "there is great value in passing this technique to somebody else. So, teach me."  
  
Roxy gulped, sizing up the Raichu once more. Her intimidation hadn't gone away even a little. "Um…Y-You know that, uh…it probably won't work…right? I mean, I've tried with _everyone_! I don't think it's a thing that can be done."  
  
Natoka didn't say anything to that. The implication hung in the air that he was commanding her to teach him and not fail. She wasn't sure if that was his actual intent or not, but it certainly put a lot of pressure onto her.  
  
"Well, uh…Okay then," she said with a small shrug.  
  
The Raichu simply nodded.  
  
There was a brief silence. "…Oh! Right now?" Roxy babbled.  
  
Natoka raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Right, uh…Okay, let's see…" Roxy glanced away for a moment and held a paw to her forehead, trying to remember the steps she had taken in her previous failed attempts at this. She had no confidence whatsoever, but Natoka was clearly a Pokémon who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. What kind of a student would he turn out to be?  
  
"Um…Close your eyes?" she asked meekly.  
  
Natoka immediately heeded her instructions and closed his eyes.  
  
This managed to take a little bit of the stress off of her shoulders. "Right! Okay, good…Now um…" She closed her eyes in thought for a moment. "You have to focus. Like, really hard. You need to shut out the outside world entirely, because what you're looking for is very, very hard to grasp."  
  
She opened her eyes and looked up to see that he hadn't moved an inch. She had no idea what was going on inside of his head. Was Natoka even the meditative type? Roxy frowned, already starting to wonder if it was even worth bothering. Nothing had worked in the past, so if she wanted to have any hope of success this time, she would need to take things a step further.  
  
One of her ears perked up as she had a sudden bolt of inspiration. "Listen to the river," she instructed, "Take a moment and focus on the sound of the river. It's constant, it's steady, and it's flowing. Keep me with you, but block out everything else." She closed her eyes once more, listening to the river herself as well. "Just listen to the river for a while…as the sound keeps going…until it's just background noise."  
  
Roxy once again began the process of gathering up the energy for a Grass Knot, as it was easier to explain while she was in the process of doing it.  
  
"Feel the ground," she spoke, softly but loud enough to be heard over the din of the river, "Feel the dirt, the earth, the grass… There's…an energy there. It's in the ground, but it's very faint. It's spread out so thinly across the entire Earth that it's hard to feel, but it's there. That's what you're looking for."  
  
Some of the villagers, when attempting to learn the move, had commented to her that everything in the world had an energy. Living and dead, moving and still, every single thing had some sort of energy somewhere inside of it. Roxy could only imagine that would make it all the more difficult to pick out this specific type of energy, especially without the knowledge gained from the TM.  
  
"If you find it," she continued, "then that is all you need. When you find it, don't lose it. Draw it up from within the ground, and allow it to fill your own body. It is…very nice…but very fickle. And, once you've gathered enough, you'll be able to do Grass Knot."  
  
Roxy opened her eyes and waved her paw, and a circle of grass blades formed around where she was sitting. She twirled a digit and they all twisted themselves and moved to form an unbroken line that encircled her. Practicing the Move so much now let her initiate the Move a lot quicker than before.  
  
She glanced up at Natoka, seeing that he still hadn't moved at all. This was pretty much the extent of what she could teach. She had never figured out a better way to explain what to do or what the energy was like, which was probably why everyone else had so much trouble learning it. It was just too hard to explain.  
  
Natoka furrowed his brow slightly, and his frown grew a tad larger. Roxy grimaced upon seeing the distressed look on his face. Many of her past 'students' had gotten that same look before they had given up.   
  
She sighed. "Sorry," she muttered, "I tried. I really, really did. I just don't think it can be done, y'know?"  
  
Natoka continued to have that same look on his face.  
  
"If you can't do it, don't worry about it…No-one else could either. You need the TM, and that's something we just don't have."  
  
Then, Natoka did something that she didn't expect. He shifted forward in his sitting position and placed his forepaws down firmly on the ground, forming a sort of slouched forward position. It almost looked like he was trying to push the ground itself downwards. The grimace on his face had gotten worse. It looked like he was struggling.  
  
"…Natoka?" Roxy spoke up in concern, "Are you okay?"  
  
He didn't move.  
  
"Are you gonna be sick or something? What is it?"  
  
Still he didn't answer, and a few minutes of tense silence passed between the two. Roxy, stuck between being confused and being concerned, didn't know what to do or say.   
  
Then, she suddenly jumped back in fright and let out a surprised scream as something erupted from the ground between the two of them.  
  
Once her brief panic vanished, she lowered her paws down from in front of her face and looked at the Raichu to see what had happened. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground as she stared at the single, very large and very thick blade of grass that had sprouted up in front of him.  
  
Natoka himself didn't change his position or expression even after this had happened. A couple of seconds later, some more grass blades erupted from around him. These weren't as big as the first one, but at least eight of them could be seen.  
  
Roxy stared in shock for a while, not quite believing what she was seeing. Had he just done it? Had Natoka just accomplished what no-one else in the whole village had been able to do?  
  
The Raichu let out a huff of air, and then opened a single eye. Immediately all of the grass blades faltered and wilted a bit, but they all remained standing. He gazed at them curiously. Seeing that they had wilted, Natoka grit his teeth and growled softly. A moment later, the blades all stood tall once more.  
  
"I…don't believe it…" Roxy whispered, her own Grass Knot dispelling.   
  
"This is…it?" Natoka spoke, strain clearly evident in his voice.  
  
Roxy was awestruck for a few more seconds before she realized she'd been asked a question. "Ah- Yes! Yes, it is! You…" She shook her head softly just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "…You've done it."  
  
Natoka closed his eyes once more and seemed to focus on something. More than a full minute of silence passed, but then Roxy saw the grass start to move. It began to inch its way forward through the air like an Ekans. He could control them too.  
  
Then, something slipped and the grassy blades all twitched and wilted. In a flash, the spectacle was gone, leaving Natoka sitting alone on the ground. He blinked open his eyes and regarded her.  
  
"You did it," Roxy repeated, "You actually did it. You- That was Grass Knot!"  
  
"…Fascinating," Natoka spoke, seeming out of breath.  
  
"I didn't think it was possible. Nobody else could…but you…" A moment of silence passed, and then a huge grin began to form on Roxy's face as she realized what all of this meant. "You did it!" she then exclaimed, "You learned Grass Knot! Oh my gosh, I could hug you right now!"  
  
"Please do not."  
  
Roxy happily hopped on her hind legs a few times, grinning cheek to cheek. "It finally happened. Someone learned Grass Knot. I was so sure that it wasn't going to happen! Yes! This is so good! This means so much!"  
  
Then she calmed down a bit and turned back to regard the Raichu. "I just…Wow!" she murmured, "I don't understand. Why just you? Why did I have to try every single other villager without any success, but you're able to do it?"  
  
Natoka glanced away and sighed softly. "My father."  
  
Roxy tilted her head. "Pardon?"  
  
"I believe the reason for my success is because of my father," he explained, "He was a Breloom."  
  
"Oh," Roxy said, and then she suddenly understood. "Oh! Of course…!" Roxy knew from the encyclopaedias that Breloom could learn Grass Knot naturally. Perhaps there was something in Natoka's genes that made the energy easier to pick up.  
  
"That makes sense…" she spoke, "It wasn't an Egg Move, but still…"  
  
"That is the technique, then?" Natoka asked, his voice still rather gruff, "Nothing more?"  
  
"Uhh…Yeah, pretty much. I guess you'd have to practice, like I did, to get really good at it, but you found the energy and no-one else could find it. You could find it again, right?"  
  
Natoka scoffed. "I did not realize it was this simple."  
  
Roxy's next response died on her lips upon hearing this. "…What?!"  
  
"I have felt that energy before," he went on to say, "Never have tried to interact with it before, though. You are right, it is a very fickle thing and difficult to grasp…"  
  
"Wait, wait, wait. What d'you mean, simple? I tried teaching _everybody_ in this damn village how to do it, and none of them even came close to finding the energy!"  
  
Natoka turned his gaze down at her, making her shrink back a little. "Then, you should have asked me sooner."  
  
"…But-" Roxy cut herself off. She had been about to retort that Natoka could've come to _her_ sooner as well, but she decided to bite her tongue. "I guess," she settled on instead.  
  
Natoka then stood up. "I will practice this now. I shall return to you if I have questions." Then, without even awaiting a response, Natoka turned and walked away.  
  
Roxy stood there a moment, having been left alone rather unceremoniously. She stared after the strange Raichu who had just gotten a little bit stranger in her books. Then, as if some invisible person had slapped her across the face and yelled at her, she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be excited.  
  
As a grin spread across her face, she hefted a paw up into the air and leapt for joy. "Woo!!" Elation like she had never felt before was flooding through her. This was it. The last checkmark had been ticked off! Someone in the tribe knew Grass Knot now, and Natoka could pass it on to others.  
  
Her excitement didn't last for too long, though. She sombrely realized a minute later that another checkmark had been added to her list as well. All of Taka's requirements were met, but now she needed to convince the others to let him leave.  
  
Roxy sighed in frustration, trying to hold onto the happiness that was slipping away. This was, after all, an exciting accomplishment. She had overcome something that she had thought impossible. Sure there was yet _another_ obstacle in her way, but even if it seemed impossible, then she could probably overcome that too.   
  
The smile returned to her. "Yeah…!" she said to herself, "And any other obstacles this stupid forest decides to throw at me." She then turned over her shoulder and glanced upwards, as if looking at some invisible deity of the forest. "You hear me? I'm goin' home, whether you want me to or not!!"


	23. Taka's Tale

"Congratulations."  
  
Roxy nearly tumbled right off of the tree branch. "Almighty tap-dancing Arceus!! Don't _do_ that, Taka!" she shouted, admonishing the Pikachu that had snuck all the way up the tall tree without her even noticing.  
  
He smirked, somehow without smiling, and said, "This is why you are lucky that I am on _your_ side."  
  
Roxy simply grumbled and shuffled to the side, allowing space for Taka to sit next to her. She was up on the tree branch of that particularly tall tree that she and Taka both liked to frequent. The two of them had shared quite a few 'discussions' on this very branch before.  
  
Once he was seated securely on the branch, Roxy gave him a sidelong glance. "Congratulations for what?" she asked him.  
  
"For teaching Natoka Grass Knot."  
  
Roxy turned to look at him fully. She knew that she should have been focusing on more important things in the conversation, but she was oddly intrigued by the fact this was the first time someone had referred to the Move by its human-given name.   
  
"From what I hear," Taka continued, "He has already picked up considerable skill with it on his own. He has started sharing what he has learned with others."  
  
"Really?" Roxy asked excitedly, "Is anyone else learning it?"  
  
"Not yet," he said with a shake of his head, "but I feel that Natoka may have a better understanding of the power than you."  
  
Even though that sounded like something she should take offense to, Roxy couldn't because she knew it was true. TMs still made her head hurt. "Well, great!"  
  
Taka didn't say anything after that. He didn't even look at her, and instead began staring off towards the horizon where the sun would set before long.  
  
"…Is that all you came up here for?" Roxy asked dubiously.  
  
Taka closed his eyes and let out a slow breath before he responded. "I made you a promise."  
  
"You did?" Roxy asked with a tilt of her head. It took a few seconds for the memory to return to her. "You _did_! That's right!"  
  
Taka simply nodded.  
  
"You're, uh…gonna tell me what happened?" she asked in a more subdued tone.  
  
Another minute or so of tense silence passed before Taka spoke. "Understand, Roxy, that I have not shared this with _any_ one before."  
  
"Really? Not even…" Roxy hesitated, nearly choking up on her own words. "Not even…Makari?"  
  
Taka shook his head. "I trust that you will not be spreading this tale around to others."  
  
"Oh no. Of course not, no," Roxy quickly said, "I wouldn't dream of it. I know, Taka. It's very personal to you."  
  
He closed his eyes tight for a moment, and seemed to be contemplating whether or not he really wanted to go ahead with this. Then, Taka sighed heavily and began to speak.  
  
"His name was Izuki…"  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow for a moment, initially not having a clue who Taka was talking about. However, the way he had worded it sparked a memory from a talk the two had shared a long time ago. "Your…The one you fell in love with?"  
  
Taka nodded, continuing to face the horizon. "I left this village because I felt like I was looking for something." He closed his eyes briefly and sighed once more. "I thought I had found it when I met him…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
I was different back then. Loud, arrogant, boastful…  
  
I did not know what it was I was longing for. Perhaps I still do not know. Something was drawing me away from the village. Something strong that I felt I could not ignore.   
  
Though I did not know what it was I was looking for, I set out with my head held high and a daring feeling in my heart. Whatever the outcome, I knew that this would be an _adventure_. Through highs and lows, I knew that this journey would be exciting, and I cared not where it would ultimately take me. Things were difficult at times, and I got hurt more than I would perhaps like to admit…  
  
Yet, I never wanted to turn around. I wanted to keep going.  
  
I passed by many Pokémon and many tribes. Most were hostile and I was forced to carefully make my way through undetected. It was like a game, only with the stakes as high as they could be. Predators were everywhere. Aside from a few choice times, I had to always be on my guard. As many have told you, the forest is _filled_ with danger.  
  
On the other paw, a few tribes did welcome me into their lands. They provided food, safe shelter, and unmolested passage through their territory. I tended not to stay for long. That sense of drive and adventure was always pulling me forward. I felt like I could not sit still.  
  
I met many friendly faces on my journey. When I met Izuki, it at first felt like just another friendly face.  
  
He was a Furret. His kind are often seen as weak, soft and childish. Izuki was no such Furret. He had a bravery that far outweighed his size. He was proficient in paw-to-paw combat, enjoyed sparring matches, and he was _fast_. He was perhaps the fastest Pokémon I have ever seen in my life. Fast and agile.   
  
When I first came across him, he was being attacked by a group of predators. Without hesitation, I stepped in to help fend them off. Izuki was strong, but he was outnumbered. He always believed that I had saved his life that day.  
  
If not for the wounds he had sustained that needed attention, we would have parted ways and I never would have seen him again. Instead, I helped him find a secure place to rest and tended to his injuries. We spent a few nights together in this small cave. With nothing else to do, we talked. Hours and hours went by, and it seemed we never ran out of things to talk about. When he was able to walk, we both set off in the same direction together.  
  
I had never known anyone like Izuki before. He was very proud and brave, something akin to what I was like back then, but he also had this quieter side to him. When night fell and the moon was above us, he sometimes had very profound things to say. The fact was that I enjoyed his company more so than any Pokémon in my life I had ever known.  
  
We journeyed together. He was all too happy to tag along on my journey towards whatever goal I was chasing. With each and every passing day, we grew closer and closer. About a day before we reached the forest's edge, he told me that he loved me. I could not see any reason not to say the same thing back to him.  
  
We emerged from the forest one day, quite unexpectedly. Neither of us had any idea what it was that lay beyond the forest. We knew what humans were, from tales told through the ages, but I can safely say that neither of us were prepared to see the massive, incredible village that the humans had built.  
  
One of the first human words I learned, in fact; 'City'.  
  
With the trees no longer blocking our view, the city spread out for what seemed like forever. It almost seemed like it was touching the horizon. Massive, tall structures that reached up to the sky and could have held thousands of Pikachu inside of it. It hugged the curve of the ocean, which in and of itself was another thing we had only heard tell of. It was astounding to see that much water in one place.  
  
Others would have been frightened. Others would have been intimidated. Izuki and I, we were more excited than ever before.  
  
We spent weeks in the city, never staying in one spot for very long. We were constantly exploring, and it never felt like we ran out of places to explore. We saw all of the ways humans constructed houses and other such structures, we were fascinated by the _machines_ , and we spent a lot of time just sitting and watching the humans do strange things.  
  
We kept to the shadows and out of sight. Hardly anyone ever noticed us, Pokémon or otherwise. Izuki knew what Poké Balls were and he warned me about what the humans could use them to do. At first I did not take him very seriously, but then I saw some humans catching Pokémon in a park. Suddenly his warnings became real. I remember staring in shock at the flash of light that had appeared, engulfing the tiny Eevee completely until it disappeared without a trace.  
  
That had been…rather horrifying to see. And yet, it only put a slight damper on my enthusiasm. I knew that nothing was ever perfect, and the best things always had a dark lining to them. There was still so much of the city for us to explore.  
  
We eventually found the Pokémon Stadium, and watched trainers having battles. That sight made the idea of Poké Balls a little less disgusting to me. It was still something neither of us wanted to happen to us, but the Pokémon down there at least looked like they were having a lot of fun. We saw 'caught' Pokémon in the park too, running and playing. That was where I learned what a 'pet' was.  
  
I digress, though. We spent weeks and weeks in the human city having a fantastic time, and then everything changed.  
  
We were in a wooded park one day, on the outskirts of the city. Still frequented by humans, but it was remote enough that wild Pokémon were more plentiful than in other such parks. I do not even remember why we were there. Perhaps we were seeking out some peace and quiet for a change of pace, or we may have even been looking for other Pokémon to get into a skirmish with.  
  
We were both deep in the park, away from the humans. There were other Pokémon nearby, running amongst the trees or feasting on the berry bushes. I remember…Izuki kept trying to hug me. He always had this smile on his face. It was just the way he enjoyed life. When things were going even a little bit well, Izuki was smiling. I kept trying to tell him that other Pokémon were staring, but he didn't care.  
  
And then, our ears both twitched and we immediately dropped into a defensive position. Something silver _whizzed_ by through the air, almost too quickly to see. I turned my attention towards it, only to see more silver objects being projected through the air. At first, I did not know what to think. Weapons? Was someone trying to attack us? All of the other Pokémon in the vicinity looked quite spooked.  
  
None of the silver things came anywhere near us _or_ the other Pokémon. They all landed into the ground, where they stuck like a thrown spear. We both glanced around as we heard the sounds of them hitting the ground, and realized that they had landed all around us. Whatever they were, they were encircling us.  
  
Before I could say a word, there was a blinding flash of white light from all directions. A horrible, shocking feeling ran up my spine and coursed through my whole body. As impossible as it seemed, it felt like I was being electrocuted. The pain I felt was immense. It was impossible not to scream.  
  
What truly made me worry, though, was that I could hear Izuki screaming. I could hear all of the Pokémon nearby screaming, but Izuki's voice stood out. It was like a dagger to my heart, more painful than whatever it was that was shocking me. His cry reached the heavens, a much more pained scream than my own.  
  
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the blinding light disappeared. I could do nothing more than collapse to the ground and pass out.  
  
I awoke much later, and it felt like the inside of my head was swimming. I had been knocked out cold before and had been groggy upon waking up, but nothing like this. I, er…even ate some fermented berries once, but still it did not measure up to what I was feeling at that moment. It felt like my body was not functioning properly. It felt like I could not breathe right. I was not sure if I would be able to get up. I thought I might have been dying.  
  
Through sheer force of will, I somehow found a way to sit up. The world was spinning and blurred, but I knew a few things. I was sitting on something cold and hard, and I was indoors. As I drunkenly felt around with my paws for a while, nothing I touched felt natural. I was forced to sit there like a lump for what seemed like forever as my senses slowly returned to me and I lost the urge to throw up.  
  
I was behind bars. I was in a cage. Once my senses had finally regained their full strength, I found that I had been stuffed into a tiny little prison, surrounded by three cold walls and a metal grate separating me from the outside world.   
  
As I shook my head to get the last of my drowsiness out, I made my way over to the grate and peeked out. The outside world, it turned out, was this unnerving room inside of some human structure. The walls were all white, there were strange objects littered around a table and two shelves, and there was a single light hanging from the roof emitting an irritating buzzing noise. It was very bright, painful to look at, but it did not spread its light around very well, leaving many corners of the room in shadow.  
  
I gripped the grate with my paws and gave it a shake, finding it to be quite sturdy. I shook it harder, but it was clear that strength was not going to make it budge. Heavens, I was very confused, and still a little disoriented. I was not sure if I was actually awake or not. I could barely remember what I had been doing before I had been knocked out.  
  
As I sat there for a moment in silence, contemplating the situation, I realized that there were sounds in the room. Straining to listen closer, I realized that it was the sound of other Pokémon. I was not alone in the room. None of them were saying anything, but I could still hear sounds. Whimpers, sobs, growling, mumbling. Since I could not see anything in front of me, I pressed my face right up against the grate to try and look to my cage's left and right. I could just _barely_ see the grates of other cages like mine spreading out in either direction. Mine was just one in a wall completely covered in cages.  
  
"What happened…?" I murmured, holding a paw to my head for a moment. "Where am I?" I then shouted a little louder, "What is going on?"  
  
The voices of the others rose to a slight tremor, as if they were frightened that I was making so much noise. No-one answered me.  
  
"…Izuki?" It suddenly became crystal clear to me that I was the only occupant in my cage. "Izuki?? Izuki!! Can you hear me, Izuki?!"  
  
There was no answer at first, and so I kept shouting his name. A sense of dread began to grow deep in the pit of my stomach. Escaping was not even a priority at that point. I just needed to know where he was.  
  
Finally, I heard a familiar voice groaning. "Izuki?" I shouted once more.  
  
"Nghh…T-Taka…?" he replied in a groggy tone.  
  
"Izuki, are you okay? Where are you?"  
  
There was a brief pause, where I imagine he was fighting through the same dizzying experience I had gone through. Then finally, he answered. "I…Taka? Where are you?" I heard the grate of a cage rattle. "I am…trapped!"  
  
My ears swiveled. It sounded like his voice was coming from the same wall I was on. I guessed he was about three cages over and two up, so I tried to angle my head in that direction so he could hear me better. "Are you okay?" I repeated.  
  
"I am…dizzy…nauseated…but I am unharmed."  
  
I breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Taka, where are you?"  
  
"I am nearby, in another cage."  
  
He was silent for a few moments. "Taka…What happened?" he asked, his voice much quieter and more subdued.  
  
Some of the other Pokémon were starting to say things, but I didn't hear any of their words. I only cared about Izuki. "It…seems as if we have been captured…by someone." I spoke, though I was still quite confused over what had happened. If we had indeed been captured by humans, why had they not used Poké Balls? Why were we in cages like this?  
  
"Can…?" Izuki's unsure voice floated down to me, "Can you get out?"  
  
I frowned and focused my attention on the grate and its lock. "I…do not know if I can." I reached back to confirm what I already knew. "They have taken my weapons. Hang on…"  
  
Without my weapons, I only had one tool left at my disposal. I got down on all fours, focused my electricity until it was sparking from my cheeks, and let loose a powerful thunder attack directly at the lock. Instead of what I expected, a strange feeling overcame me and I did not see any thunder. The entire cage…Walls, ceiling and all…It all glowed briefly, and then stopped as if nothing had happened.  
  
Confused, I tried another thunder attack, but this time paid attention to what was happening. The same feeling overcame me, but I focused my gaze elsewhere until I saw what was happening. Somehow, all of my thunder was being absorbed into the floor beneath my paws, causing the cage to glow briefly again.  
  
"What…?!" I breathed, incredulous.  
  
"Taka?"  
  
"My…thunder," I replied, "I cannot use my thunder! The cage is…absorbing it somehow!"  
  
"Oh, heavens…"  
  
I heard the sound of Izuki rattling on his cage as well, but he could no more escape than I could. After a moment of silence, he asked me, "What do we do…?"  
  
" _Shut up!_ "  
  
We were both taken aback by the sudden hissing shout of another Pokémon in one of the other cages. From his voice alone, I could tell he was beyond terrified.  
  
"Stop making noise!" he shouted, "You're gonna make'm angry. Just shut up, or they'll…"  
  
Before we could ask him what he was talking about and who 'they' were, the door on the opposite end suddenly opened. Everyone in the room, even myself, was silenced as we watched the humans pile into the room.  
  
There were seven of them, all fully-grown humans. Three of them were dressed completely in white. They wore those things called _glasses_ , held something that they were writing on, and wore coverings over their hands and their mouths. The three of them moved towards the table in the centre of the room.  
  
The other four, though, were very strange looking. Aside from a difference in gender, they all looked almost exactly alike. They had the same outfit with flashy colours, some sort of human letter on the front of their clothes, dark _glasses_ and… _really_ strange hair on their heads. They all remained near the back of the room, watching.  
  
The three in white spent a really long while just standing there, talking to each other, writing stuff down, and occasionally looking over at us. I had learned quite a bit of the human language at that point, but not enough to understand them.  
  
They kept using the word… _specimen_.  
  
After an excruciatingly long time with nothing happening, I decided to take a chance. "Hey!" I shouted at them, knowing full well they could not understand me but hoping to get the message across anyway. "Let us out of here!!"  
  
All seven of them fell silent and glanced at me, then resumed what they were doing as if nothing had happened.  
  
"I am stronger than I look! You would be wise to let us go!"  
  
This time they didn't even pay attention to me. I sat down and frowned. We would just have to wait for them to do _something_ , which would hopefully provide us with a small chance to get out of this situation.  
  
Finally, one of the white ones walked over towards us. I bristled, ready for a fight, but he opened a cage below mine. From out of it, he pulled a very terrified Nidoran. I felt pity and rage as I looked at the tiny little thing. She looked far too young to have left her mother, and now these humans were grabbing her like a plump berry. She did not scream nor shout. She barely breathed.  
  
I tried shouting a few more things, but the humans were still ignoring me. The Nidoran was taken over to the table, where the other white ones joined in to place her down and hold her there. I doubt she could have put up a fight even if no-one had been holding her down. I flinched slightly as there was a sudden sound, and some sort of restraints slipped out of the table and around her four limbs.   
  
"Let her go! Hey!"   
  
The voice of Izuki echoed my own feelings, but I was in a place I had never been in before. I was powerless to do anything, and the feeling was alien to me. I did not know who this Nidoran was, nor did I care, but I felt a desire in the pit of my stomach to break out and help her that was stronger than anything I'd felt before.  
  
The white ones said a few more things and wrote down some stuff, while the colourful ones just kept watching. I could see the Nidoran's chest heaving up and down as she panicked. Then, finally, one of the white ones stepped forward with something in his hand.  
  
It was tube-shaped with a handle or a button on one end, and a sharp needle point on the other. It looked like it was filled with some sort of greenish liquid. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, the white one had plunged the needle point right into the lower back of her neck, causing her to scream out loud. No blood came out, but I watched in horror as the green liquid went _in_.  
  
Izuki and I fell silent. In fact, the whole room fell silent save for the whimpering of the Nidoran. Everyone's attention was trained on her, waiting for whatever would happen next.  
  
She grit her teeth and started twitching about as much as she could in her restraints. It looked like she could not sit still, like something was bubbling and boiling inside of her. A moment later, shockingly, that turned out to be not far from the truth. There seemed to be…ripples…under her skin. I can barely describe what I saw. It was as if someone had decided to play games with the laws of nature. It was like her whole body was…churning.  
  
She let out a loud shout, partly a growl, and I was taken aback by how _deep_ her voice was now. She sounded like a Nido _king_! I could not be sure, but it looked like, somehow, her teeth were sharper. After a moment, I could finally see just what was happening to her. It was her muscles. Every one in her body seemed to have grown somehow, causing her skin to bulge outwards grotesquely. At a glance, it looked like she had gotten _much_ stronger, far stronger than any Nidoran I have ever seen, especially at her age.  
  
The colourful ones started giving praise, a few of them lightly clapping their hands. It looked like they were impressed by this sickening display. The white ones, too, gave each other approving looks and seemed proud of themselves. Was this really the outcome they had actually expected?! It looked like something had gone horribly wrong with whatever they had been doing, but quite the opposite seemed to be true.  
  
I nearly threw up just looking at what that poor Nidoran had become. By pure outward appearances, she looked so much stronger in terms of physical strength and more...vicious. She also looked like she was in pain, and was still writhing around. Whatever strength she may have gained, she did not look in any position to use it.  
  
Then, she let out a horrifying sound. It was like a strangled gurgling in the back of her throat. I saw slobber drool out the side of her mouth, and then she promptly passed out. The coloured ones looked confused, while the white ones all shared a sigh of disapproval. Then, without any further ceremony, they worked together to remove her restraints and toss her back into her cage. She did not wake up while they handled her.  
  
I sat there, utterly shell-shocked, for a good length of time. It took far too long for my brain to suddenly snap back into awareness and remind me that _we needed to get out of there!_  
  
"Izuki!"  
  
I heard his shuddering breath.  
  
"Izuki, think! They cannot understand us, so help me figure a way out of here! We do _not_ want that to happen to us!"  
  
"T-Taka…?" he spoke uncertainly. The hesitation in his voice was so uncharacteristic of him that it caught me by surprise.  
  
"Focus!!"  
  
"But what do we do??"  
  
"I…" I muttered, but my words fell flat. I honestly did not know what to do. The two of us had been in trouble before from time to time, but one of us had always been there to be strong for the other. Being left with no course of action made me feel extremely uncomfortable.  
  
I did not have much longer to think on it, however. The white ones soon stepped forward to open the next cage, ready to repeat their horrifying experiment. I warily watched them, seeing which cage they were moving towards. I heard the sound of a cage opening.  
  
The protesting voice of the Pokémon inside that cage made my blood run cold. "No…No!!" I watched, quickly panicking, as the humans reached in and pulled my Izuki out of his cage. His long, nimble body was doing its best to writhe and try to free itself from the human's strong grasp, but it was no good. Neither were his attempts to bite the hands holding him, thanks to the thick covering they wore around their hands.   
  
"Stop!! Put him down! Release him!!" I shouted, despite how useless doing so was. I have lived my life, before and after this event, keeping myself calm and under control in even the most dire situations. When I saw the Furret who occupied so many deep parts of my mind being taken over to that table, I nearly lost it. I panicked hard.  
  
"Izuki!!" I shouted, "Izuki!!"  
  
My paws pounded against the cage door, creating a loud cacophony through the whole room. My heart thumping in my chest was nearly as loud. My Izuki, my love, was being put through the same motions as that Nidoran. I knew that if I didn't do something, the same horrible thing was going to happen to him. I needed to get out, _now_.  
  
"You monsters!!" I shouted as he was placed face-up on the table. The restraints popped up, securely locking him down. He was gritting his teeth and struggling his heart out, but he couldn't move anything aside from his head and his tail.   
  
"Release him!!" I shouted frantically, "Release him now, or I swear to Arceus above…I will destroy every one of you! I will paint the walls with your blood!!"  
  
Some of the humans were glancing at me, but most of them were managing to ignore my very loud protests. How they managed to stay focused I will never be sure.  
  
"If you hurt him…!" I continued, "If you dare lay a _finger_ on him, I will not rest so long as any one of you still breathes! What you did to that Nidoran will be _nothing_ compared to what I will do to you!! Do you hear me?!"  
  
But, they could not hear me. I knew this, and yet I still refused to shut up. My blood boiled, and my mind panicked like never before in my whole life. I felt like I was going to be sick. Nothing at all had ever mattered to me as much as, at that very moment, getting out and saving Izuki.  
  
The fact that I could do no such thing only made everything worse. That sense of soul-crushing hopelessness and that feeling of uselessness… They had my Izuki, and they were about to do horrible things to him, and all I could do was sit on my useless behind and watch.  
  
Izuki was putting up a valiant fight, but he was no match for the restraints holding him down. He had his teeth grit in determination, but I could see the fear growing in his eyes. The desperation slowly taking over him as danger drew nearer and nearer.  
  
"Izuki!!" I shouted, reaching out a paw towards him even though the cage was in the way.  
  
He looked back up at me, his eyes silently screaming for help. He needed me.  
  
"Izuki, fight!! Fight!!" I yelled desperately.  
  
Izuki tried once more to break free while the white ones mulled around. I could see him pushing himself beyond his limits, but still to no avail.  
  
"You can do this!" Giving him motivation was pretty much all I could do at that point. "You are strong! I know you are! Fight, Izuki!!"  
  
One of the white ones stepped over with that needle thing. My heart stopped. It was full of the same green liquid as before. "No…" I muttered. The human reached down and brought the needle point right up to Izuki's neck. I saw panic ripple through him as he stared up at the human in horror, trying desperately to inch his neck away from the offending instrument. I had truly never seen him so afraid before.  
  
"No!!" I shouted, "Stop!! Leave him alone!!" Of course, I was ignored. "Take me instead!! Just let him go!!"  
  
The needle pierced Izuki's skin.   
  
It felt like the world had come to a standstill in that moment. Izuki's scream ripped right through me like a thousand spears, tearing me apart on the inside. An unfamiliar feeling of dread filled me as I watched, transfixed. It was so much worse than the pain of seeing your friend get hurt, or even the pain of losing a family member. I was hit with an overwhelming sense of failure. I had failed him…  
  
I could only watch in horror as every last drop of that vile liquid was drained into his frightened body. Immediately after the needle was withdrawn, he started writhing for an entirely different reason. He had the most horrible grimace on his face as he twisted and squirmed in the restraints.  
  
The fire in my heart reignited itself and I continued my useless shouting at the humans. I resumed my banging on the cage door. I tried my thunder a few more times.   
  
Izuki's face was twisted up in pain. He looked like he was in more pain than the Nidoran was; _much_ more. He let out a few screams of agony and twitched violently. It looked like his insides were rearranging themselves and he was being forced to endure every agonizing second.  
  
Then, my dread grew as I realized something else. Time had passed, but Izuki's skin and muscles were not…well, the same effect was not happening to him as had happened to the Nidoran. He was not being transformed into a horrible super-strong version of himself. "No, no, no…" I whispered. Those horrible things weren't happening to my Izuki, but this was much worse.  
  
Something was going _wrong_.  
  
The white ones seemed to notice this as well. One of them reached forwards and actually undid his restraints, leaving him free on the table. However, he could no more run away than he could control any other part of his body. He was seizing up on the table in a terrifying display. I could see foam in his mouth. His eyes were not focused. Now that his paws were free, he was using them to tightly grip his stomach.  
  
I was not shouting anymore. I was too horrified. I just watched, wide-eyed, as my love went through the fires of hell.  
  
There was blood now. Blood coming from his mouth, and blood leaking from where his claws dug into his fur from clutching himself so tightly. The only sounds he could make at this point were strangled gasps. The white ones were all saying somewhat concerned things to each other, but no-one was stepping in to do anything.  
  
"T…"   
  
My ears perked up. I heard the precious sound of Izuki's voice, so tired and strained.  
  
"T…Taka…!"   
  
And then, a tremor went through his body, he gasped, and suddenly went limp. He had stopped moving entirely, lying face up with his eyes wide open and foam still leaking out the side of his mouth. All at once there was a deafening silence. Despite how far away I was from him, I could see. I knew what I saw, despite all of my desperate hopes to the contrary.  
  
Izuki's chest no longer rose and fell. He had stopped breathing.  
  
What happened next is a blur in my mind. There were so many thoughts and emotions running through my head at once that it felt like I was in a trance. I remember sitting stock still, staring for what seemed like an eternity at his unmoving body. One moment I was barely breathing, and the next I was screaming to the heavens. All of my grief, rage, disbelief and despair all erupted at once.  
  
It seemed one of the colourful ones had finally had enough of my noise. While I was slamming myself against the cage, partly to try and get out but mostly because I was so angry and grief stricken, he walked over to my cage. He had a very cross expression, and was carrying something in one of his hands that he was pointing threateningly at me. I think it may have been some sort of weapon, but I do not know for sure.  
  
In fact, I am not entirely sure what happened next. The colourful one had opened my cage, presumably to discipline me, and a moment later I had broken free of his grasp. Perhaps he had struck me with the weapon and I was too far gone to feel the pain. The point was that I was out of the cage.  
  
Instinct kicked in as I vaulted over the human's head. Some of the other colourful ones made to catch me, but I bounced off of one's head and kicked off the face of another. I made a quick loop of the room by clambering over the shelves and stuff next to the walls, causing as much confusion as I could to disorient my attackers. They all stumbled around after me, some shouting things at others, and two of them went to block the door.  
  
I was not going for the door. Once I was certain nobody was close enough to catch me, I hopped up onto the table in the middle as quickly as I could. I rushed over to Izuki, collapsed onto my knees, and reached out to cradle his prone form.  
  
For as long as I dared, I listened. I stood still, listened, watched and felt. I desperately looked for a sign, even the faintest little sign, of a heartbeat. A moment later, I shoved my head down against his chest and pressed my ear against his fur.  
  
His body was cold, and his heart was still. There was no longer any question.  
  
Izuki was dead.  
  
I wanted to stay there and mourn, but the humans were already advancing on me. I shed a few tears and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then forced myself to focus so I could dodge away from the hand reaching out to grab me.  
  
My Izuki was dead.  
  
I remember clenching my paws tightly and quivering as unfamiliar emotions rippled through me.  
  
He was _dead_! Gone forever. Neither of us had been able to say goodbye.  
  
And _they_ had killed him.  
  
I do not remember much of what happened after that moment. All I can tell you is that I caused havoc. I trashed the room, smashed the bars on a few of the other cages, and inflicted as much pain on those humans as I could…though I did not kill any of them. Perhaps I would have eventually, but…  
  
 _Sigh…_  
  
I wanted revenge. I wanted to punish these humans, and make them feel just how much they had taken away from me. However, my sense of self-preservation took control. When another human opened the door, I seized my chance and ran. I flew through the rooms of that building, causing more chaos, until I finally managed to find a way out.  
  
It was pouring rain outside. There had not been a single cloud in the sky when we had been in the park, so I had no idea how much time had passed. I ran as fast as I could away from that horrible place, and I did not slow down until I was sure that they were no longer following me. Then I kept running even more, until I slipped on a spot of mud and landed face-first in the muck.  
  
…I cried more tears than the clouds did that day. In even the darkest parts of my mind, imagining the worst day possible, I had never thought something like this could happen. I had lost the only thing that was important to me, so I felt like I had nothing left.  
  
I started cursing myself for running away. I looked upon myself as a coward for fleeing and letting such an injustice go. I realized that there were still plenty of Pokémon in cages back there, all of whom were going to undergo the same horrible thing. The right thing to do would have been to go back, break inside, and rescue everybody before anyone else could die.  
  
Instead, I turned and ran. I had ended up near the forest's edge anyway, so I took off running into the woods and did not look back. I cast that place, that city…the whole human world, I cast behind me. I wanted nothing more to do with it, and I wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Eventually, my wayward paws took me home again.  
  
This forest is dangerous. Some Pokémon are predators, and must kill to survive…but no Pokémon alive today could ever be as cruel and heartless as those humans who had taken Izuki away from me…  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy just stared at the other Pikachu. Her jaw hung open slightly and she felt completely numb from head to tail. "T-Taka…" she whispered, but found she couldn't say anything else. Taka's story had enraptured her, and now she felt physically sick. Now that she had finally heard the truth about what had happened to Taka, she almost wished she had never asked. She felt shaken to her very core.  
  
Taka heaved a huge sigh and gazed out at the horizon, where the sun would be setting in a matter of minutes. "I have never told anybody that," he spoke, "Not even…Not even my brother…"  
  
"Really…?" Roxy replied in a very tiny voice.  
  
"It has been a long time…It has taken me these many years…just to get over the pain. I saw him everywhere I went, as if he was still alive and just playing hide and seek." Taka paused for a moment, and then shook his head. "I left because I was looking for something…and I felt like I had found it."   
  
He slowly turned to gaze at her. "And the humans took him away from me."  
  
Roxy gulped as a shiver ran down her spine. She was fighting off tears of her own, while marvelling at the fact that there weren't any in Taka's eyes. "I-" she croaked, but her voice caught in her throat. She was still in disbelief. She had guessed that something awful had happened to Taka that had turned him into the quiet, stoic, unfriendly Pikachu that he was, but she had never imagined anything like that.  
  
Then, she shut her eyes for a moment and forced her stomach to sit still. "Taka," she said, though there was a tremble in her voice, "I'm so sorry…I really had no idea…" She glanced at him. "Thank you for telling me."  
  
Taka just quietly grunted.  
  
"I understand now…Taka, if I had known you'd been through something this awful, I…" Roxy then shook her head and refocused her thoughts a little. "Those…Those humans," she said, "They sound like a _gang_ …"  
  
Taka turned to look at her, confused by the human word.  
  
"There are some really bad humans in the world, and they all get together to form a big team so that they can work together to commit crimes. They're called _gangs_ , and each region of the world has at least one. Back home, there's _Team Rocket_. I dunno for sure, and I don't know which _gang_ it would be, but those humans were probably part of Team something-or-other…"  
  
She then gave him an imploring look. "Taka, those humans are…they're the worst example of what humans can be. They're just…they're low, they're the scum of the Earth. Everything they do is horrible and wrong, no matter how they try to justify it, and everybody else knows it. There's a reason that they have to form _gangs_ like that, Taka, and that's because it's literally them against the world.  
  
"The human world is made up of all kinds of humans doing all kinds of things, and working together to help one another. Some build houses, some make food, some of them are just there to make you laugh. Some, though, make the rules and keep order, and they help keep everybody safe, Pokémon and human alike. Some _really_ important humans are in charge of basically running the whole thing! Imagine if the wise ones were just one Raichu, and he was in charge of the _entire forest!_ "  
  
Taka was listening closely to what she was saying, though he wasn't yet responding. Roxy once again found herself a little frustrated by her inability to read his emotions.  
  
"The point is…" she continued, "that for every member of a _gang_ , there's ten humans trying to stop them, twenty more humans trying to help the first ten stop them, and then at least a _hundred_ who simply hate them." She sighed and glanced away. "Every society has a few bad Leppa Berries…I'm just so sorry you had to meet ours…"  
  
Roxy waited for Taka to reply, but for a while no response came. A cold stillness hovered around the two of them, with silence hanging in the air for at least three or four minutes.   
  
"You are right."  
  
When the silence was suddenly broken, Roxy perked up in surprise. She turned back to look at Taka.  
  
"It has taken me a long time to accept this, but I already knew the truth of what you just told me," Taka explained, "I had unfairly painted the entire human race as blood-red as those…' _gang_ ' members."  
  
"…Yeah?" Roxy replied, a touch surprised.  
  
"Obviously, I know now how untrue that must be," he said with a short nod, "After all, there must be some truly good and wonderful humans out there to have raised you."  
  
A smile slowly began to form on her face. "Yeah!" she said with a nod of her own, "Yeah, my master…She is about as far, far, far away from the kind of human that those _gangs_ are! Literally the opposite! She…" She paused, her voice growing more sombre. "She would lay down and cry if she heard about what happened to Izuki…"  
  
She saw Taka stiffen slightly upon her mentioning Izuki's name, but it didn't seem to affect him too much.  
  
"My master is the kindest, sweetest, most generous…loving, helpful, caring…" Roxy trailed off, her gaze slipping away from Taka.   
  
"Whenever I thought about humans," he continued, "…all I could think about was _them_. In my mind I thought that any one of them could and would do the very same thing. A part of me was happy to return to this life in the forest, where humans do not set foot. Then you showed up, being dropped literally right out of the heart of the human world. Those memories of those horrible humans, somewhat buried over time, returned to the forefront of my mind and when I looked at you, I could only think of Izuki. You are much more than a 'specimen', to your human and to us as well, so I can tell that the humans you know must be…different."  
  
Taka stopped talking, as if expecting her to say something. She didn't, however, as she was busy staring off into the early sunset.   
  
"…Roxy?"  
  
To be honest, she hadn't even really been listening. Her mind had been elsewhere.  
  
"What is wrong now?"  
  
Roxy tried to respond, but all that came out was a pathetic squeak. She slowly turned to Taka, trying to fight off tears that were starting to form in her eyes. When she again tried to speak, opening her mouth only allowed a sob to escape.  
  
"S-sorry…" she murmured as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I'm sorry…I just…Suddenly, I really miss my master…"  
  
"…Ah."  
  
"I was talking about her, so I started to think about her, and it's like I suddenly remember just how badly I miss her…" Roxy sniffled and again tried to wipe her eyes clean. "Sorry…I know you think I'm a crybaby, but it was just so sudden."  
  
Roxy took a moment to compose herself, and was able to get her tears under control before she totally lost it. After a few deep breaths, she was able to look up at Taka without tear-stained eyes. He was looking down at her somewhat impassively, though he also looked like he wasn't sure how to react.  
  
"I gotta get home…" she said simply, "I gotta see my master…I gotta show her that I'm alright…" Roxy sighed and hugged herself a little. "I know you're trying, and the wise ones are sayin' stuff, but…Ugh…" She shook her head before adding, "I _have_ to go…"  
  
She felt the branch shift under, and glanced over to see that Taka was standing up. She looked up and gave him a curious look as he turned to look back down at her.  
  
"Well," he spoke, "Ensure you are prepared enough. I will meet you by the bathing spot."  
  
She tilted her head at him, confused at first. "Wha…?" After a moment, though, it dawned on her what he was talking about. Her eyes grew about as wide as dinner plates. "W-wait…" she murmured in disbelief.  
  
Taka just nodded. "We leave tonight."


	24. Parting Gift

Roxy stared at Taka, blinking a few times but not saying anything. Her jaw hung open just slightly. Finally, after Taka started raising an eyebrow at her odd reaction, she gave her head a little shake. "I'm sorry…What?"  
  
Taka gave her an odd look. "I said 'We leave tonight.'"  
  
"Y…Are you serious? It's…already 'tonight'!"  
  
"Be there in 15 minutes or I might leave without you."  
  
Roxy's eyes grew wider. "You…I- Y-you really mean…now? As in right now? We're… _leaving_?"  
  
Taka nodded.  
  
She felt her head spin just a little. "You're not kidding? You really want to leave with me…right now?"  
  
"…Yes," Taka said, giving her an odd look, "How many times must I repeat myself?"  
  
"But- The wise ones said it was okay?"  
  
Taka shook his head. "No," he added, "I would suggest you take care that nobody sees you."  
  
"But…Are we ready? What about my Electric attacks? I still can't do very much!"  
  
"What skills you have and what skills I already possess will be enough."  
  
Roxy gaped for a minute as she drank all of this information in. "You- So…" she muttered, trying and failing to form a sentence. She glanced off at the deepening sunset, and then turned around and looked the other way, in the direction of the village.   
  
"…Oh," was what she finally settled on saying.  
  
"Indeed. Grab a spear, and another weapon if you can handle one. In my hut there is a satchel you can take, and-"  
  
"So you're doing it again?"  
  
Upon being interrupted, Taka furrowed his brow at her. "Doing what?"  
  
"You're leaving again," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice, "Just like last time, you're gonna leave the clan in the middle of the night without telling anybody."  
  
He didn't answer right away. He shifted his jaw wordlessly for a few seconds before saying, "It is indeed 'just like last time'. They do not want me to go, and nothing is going to change their minds. They will stop me- stop _us_ if they can, so we have to leave now."  
  
Roxy slumped a little. She remembered hearing from Makari, Miri and many others how heartbroken and worried they had been when Taka had left last time. They had all felt abandoned by him. They had felt betrayed. So much animosity was still festering in the backs of their minds, and now Taka wanted to do it all over again.  
  
"You want me to leave without saying goodbye to anyone…"  
  
Taka sighed. "It is necessary. Word spreads quickly through the tribe."  
  
Roxy squirmed a little, feeling conflicted. Hearing that she was finally, truly ready to go home should have filled her with unimaginable joy, but knowing that Taka was about to just run off into the night again sullied that joy. The fact that she had to do the same thing didn't help matters.  
  
Makari had seemed so sad when he spoke of Taka's leaving, and Roxy couldn't blame him. She tried to imagine what she would feel like if her master just left in the middle of the night with no explanation. It was a terrible thing to do, especially to those one would consider friends and even loved ones. Taka wasn't the most popular member of the tribe, but everybody here still cared a lot about him. Roxy remembered the worry that had spread when Taka had disappeared following Makari's passing.  
  
She could also see from the perspective of the wise ones. Taka was a valuable asset to the tribe, one way or another. He was an exceptional fighter, and she had always overheard praise for his performance on patrol duty. When the Earth Tribe had invaded, Taka had been the bravest one out of the whole tribe, marching right up to Tazoka and standing his ground. With Makari gone, Taka's skills would be even more needed.  
  
At the same time, though, Roxy wondered if there really was a choice in the matter. It was true that it didn't seem like the wise ones' minds would be changed. They didn't want Taka to leave, so Taka wasn't going to leave unless he did sneak out. No-one else was willing to take her to the forest's edge, so she would have to sneak out with him. As upsetting as it seemed, it looked like her only option.  
  
Yet, Roxy wondered if she could really bring herself to do that. Letting Taka run away was one thing, but doing it herself was something else entirely. She thought about all of the close friends she had made in this tribe. At this point, she probably had as many friends in the tribe as she did out of the tribe! If push came to shove, could she really make herself just abandon all of them without saying goodbye? To just cut off that many friendships, never to mend them again? What about well-wishes and words of advice? What about promises she had made?  
  
Roxy slowly turned to look at Taka. She was silent for a moment, and then spoke her answer. "No."  
  
Taka appeared utterly befuddled. "…Excuse me? What do you mean, 'no'?"  
  
"No," she repeated, and then clarified, "I can't leave tonight just like that."  
  
"And why not?" Taka barked back, growing a little testy, "Is this not what you wanted all this time?"  
  
"It is…" she spoke softly, "But I can't." She then glanced away and paused for a moment, before a little smile tugged at her lips. "I can't go yet," she said, "I promised Adikai."  
  
She could almost hear the gear slip in Taka's head. "What? Adikai…?"  
  
"I promised I'd be there when Adikai got his name," she explained.  
  
"…You're kidding," Taka deadpanned.  
  
Roxy chuckled softly and then sighed. Taka wasn't wrong. She did want to go home more than anything in the world, and even though some paths would be hurtful to take she wouldn't balk at taking any of them. She had been waiting, hoping, and begging for this chance to come and now it was finally here. This was finally her chance to leave.  
  
But, even though this was what she had hoped for, it didn't feel right. She had friends here, now. Friends much closer than even some Pokémon she knew back home. She had Pokémon here she cared about, and Pokémon here who cared about her.   
  
Taka grunted in exasperation. "That is the Marking Ceremony…" he muttered, "That's still seven days away."  
  
Roxy wore a bittersweet smile as she nodded. One more week couldn't hurt.  
  
A period of uncomfortable silence passed between the two. Roxy had no doubt that Taka had already mentally and physically prepared himself on the belief that he would be setting out in a few minutes, rather than a few days. There was a tiny little fear in the back of her mind that, because she wasn't playing ball, he would just leave without her. She quashed that fear, though. She knew Taka enough to know more than that, right?  
  
"…Fine," Taka grumbled.  
  
Roxy smiled gratefully. "Thank you."  
  
"We leave immediately after the ceremony. Not a day more."  
  
"Okay."  
  
There was another pause, and then Taka continued in a more serious tone. "You realize, of course, that this changes nothing else. We are still leaving in the middle of the night, and you are still telling _no-one_ about this."  
  
Roxy glanced at the sunset for a moment, and then heaved a heavy sigh before turning to look at him once more. "If we have to…" she said in a dismayed voice, "…then I will."  
  
"Good," Taka said with a nod, "And, yes, we _have_ to. Unless, through some miracle, the wise ones change their minds in the coming seven days, they will not allow us to leave and so we must leave without their knowing."  
  
Roxy shook her head sadly. "I don't like it…I _hate_ it…" She sighed once more. "…but I'll do anything to get home."   
  
"Very well," Taka said as he shrugged. Then, without another word, he leapt down from the branch and climbed back down to the ground.  
  
Roxy leaned against the tree's trunk and heaved an empty sigh. There was an ache in her heart, and it felt like it was sapping away all of her strength. She really didn't want to abandon any of the friends she'd made here. She would always choose going home over staying with them, of course, but she would want to see them all off with smiles, hugs and goodbyes.   
  
Instead, it would be just her and Taka sneaking off into the night, leaving behind everybody to wonder what had happened to them. Some would be angry and some would be very upset, heartbroken even. Roxy considered leaving behind a note saying goodbye to them, but tossed that idea when she remembered that none of them would be able to read it.   
  
She glanced up at the sun, nearly disappeared behind the horizon, and wondered to herself why things had to be like this. A moment later, though, a small smile tugged at her lips.  
  
'Okay, correction…' she thought to herself, 'It will be just me, Taka _and_ Makari sneaking off into the night…' Her eyes drifted higher up into the sky, looking for a pair of loving eyes looking back that she would never see.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It was a strange week.  
  
To all outward appearances, it would seem like a very normal week to anyone in the tribe, Roxy or otherwise. To her, though, the looming thought that she was about to leave without any pomp or circumstance made even the simplest interactions feel strange. Roxy tried her best to act normal, but constantly felt self-conscious about herself and feared she was giving away their secret.  
  
It was tough, though. She would often wonder if asking another villager for a piece of fruit would be the last time she ever spoke to that Pokémon in her whole life. How could one act normal with thoughts like that in one's head?  
  
Roxy wanted to spend most of her time training so as to keep her mind off of things, but she also wanted to spend as much time as she could with all of these Pokémon she would soon be leaving behind. It left her quite conflicted, and more than once she was asked by someone else if she was feeling all right.  
  
Outside of her own muddled little head, though, it was a perfectly normal week for the village. Nothing of note happened, good or bad, and everybody simply went about their days. Roxy tried her best to go with the flow.  
  
Every time she was hanging out with Miri, she wanted so badly to tell her. She wanted to share her secret, knowing full well she could trust the Audino, just so that they could have a proper goodbye. Aside from Makari, Miri was the one she had grown the closest to. The most she could do, though, was say farewell to her each time with a warm hug. It was a good thing Miri loved hugs and didn't mind one bit.  
  
Before Roxy knew it, seven days had passed. The sun was setting, and the others were setting up the Marking Ceremony. She found herself sitting on a log in a sort of trance. The day of her departure had arrived so suddenly, she almost couldn't believe it. She had been physically and mentally preparing herself for this day as much as she could, and yet she didn't feel prepared one bit. There was excitement bubbling in the pit of her stomach, fear of the dangers they would face gripping her heart, and dismay in her soul at what she was about to do to everybody.  
  
Before she got too agitated, Roxy took a deep breath and reminded herself that all of that would come later. Now, it was time for a festival.  
  
Taka was off helping with set-up, and Roxy wasn't at all sure why he agreed to do so considering that he was about to leave, so Roxy found a seat next to Miri. Roxy tried to strike up friendly conversations, but couldn't shake the feeling that the Audino would soon be simply gone from her life.  
  
The sun set, and soon it was only the light of the torches keeping the darkness of night at bay. The drums were pounded and the ceremony was begun. Karizu addressed the crowd, as he usually did, and soon enough those who were being honoured were called up.  
  
Roxy smiled and waved at the very excited-looking Adikai. Interestingly, there were eight Pokémon on the stage, but seven of them were Pikachu. Adikai was the odd 'mon out, as it were. He was also last in line. Two of the other Pikachu looked like they had just recently evolved, while the others were full grown adults.   
  
The first Pikachu was called up and the true part of the ceremony started. He was fed the same spoken words that every Marking Ceremony featured, he accepted, and then Natoka applied the green paint. This Pikachu got one of his ears painted entirely green, much to Roxy's surprise. Miri leaned over and explained that it represented an astute ability to climb and hang off of branches. Roxy tried to make the connection between the mark and its meaning in her head, only for her head to start hurting.  
  
Roxy watched the ceremony unfold, getting quite invested in it. Simply being here with nearly everybody in the tribe all gathered at once, celebrating the accomplishments of her tribemates, was something that really made her happy. That bittersweet feeling that came with the thought of leaving lost a bit of its sting as she sat there, applauding wildly once someone received their brand new mark.  
  
One Pokémon was missing, though. Roxy glanced up at the stars.  
  
While the last Pikachu before Adikai was getting his mark applied, Roxy glanced down at her own. Her eyes fell upon the swirls on her forelimb and the swish shape on her upper hip. She still sometimes forgot that they were even there, because it was so unbelievable that she had actually received them. Makari had told her that the paint was not permanent, but it did last a _long_ time. This was a reminder that would stay with her long after she had made it home, if she had to guess.  
  
"Adikai!"  
  
Roxy glanced up with a start, and then grinned and applauded as the Shinx excitedly bounded forward. He sat down before the Raichu, trying his best to look dignified, but the star-struck look in his eyes and the goofy grin on his face put somewhat of a damper on that attempt.  
  
"It is with great honour, responsibility, and congratulations…" Karizu spoke, "that we recognize your abilities and welcome you as a full-fledged member of this clan. We are all very proud to bestow upon you…your very first mark."  
  
Natoka stepped forward, his paw dripping with green paint, and Roxy could see the Shinx focusing really hard on staying still. Natoka's paw moved as gracefully as a paintbrush, leaving two wavy lines of green across Adikai's chest. Roxy remembered him talking about getting good at pouncing, and wondered if the mark had anything to do with stealth.  
  
"We believe," Karizu continued, "that you will accomplish great things. Congratulations, young one… From now on, we shall call you by your true name." After a dramatic pause, he announced, "Taki!"  
  
The Shinx whooped with joy, then remembered himself and sat back down. He bowed his head to both Raichu in thanks, and then faced the applauding crowd. Roxy wasn't sure of the last time she had seen someone smile that brightly.  
  
"Taki…" Miri mused softly next to her, "Yes, quite fitting." Upon Roxy's curious gaze, Miri clarified, "It means 'silent and nimble'."   
  
"Ha!" Roxy couldn't help but laugh. "That little bundle of energy? He loves to make noise."  
  
"Mmhmm, but have you seen him in practice?" Miri replied with a sidelong glance, "When it comes to combat or stealth, he becomes like an entirely different Shinx."  
  
Roxy glanced up as the ceremony was concluded, and Karizu invited everyone to start dancing. She smiled and watched as most of the gathered Pokémon began to dance to the beat of the drums while the bonfire burned in the background. She didn't join in at first, and was just happy to remain on the sidelines.   
  
It was Miri who convinced her to get up and join the fun. She found, rather inexplicably, that she just couldn't say no. The energy of the festival was contagious, and soon she was dancing along with all of the others with a big smile on her face. For a short but wonderful time, she forgot all about her stresses. It was just another wonderful festival.  
  
After a few musical numbers, the dancers started to disperse with some of them continuing to dance while others moved aside to talk. Roxy was in the latter category. She had picked up a Leppa Berry from the veritable buffet that had been laid out on leaves, and was sitting there as she ate it.   
  
The sight of so many of her friends looking so happy kept the smile on her face, but the bittersweet feeling started to return. There were so many Pokémon that she should be saying goodbye to, and she couldn't say it to any of them. She wanted to try and stay optimistic, but little by little her smile began to disappear.  
  
That's when she was suddenly pounced from behind. "Haha!!" a very happy and excited Shinx proclaimed.  
  
"Wah!" Roxy shouted in surprise, but quickly turned to laughter when she saw who it was. "You got me!"  
  
"Look! Look, it is my first mark!"  
  
"I know," she said as she nodded in approval, "It looks great on you! You should be very proud of yourself, Adikai." She then held a paw up to her mouth. "Oops…I guess I need to call you 'Taki' now."  
  
"Yes!" Taki exclaimed with a big, toothy grin, "It feels like I have been waiting forever, but now I have my own name! I love it so much!"  
  
Roxy smiled as she gazed down at the excitable little cub. He had literally grown a couple of inches since she had first met him, and she wondered if it wouldn't be long before he evolved into a Luxio. He had smiled at her when he had first met her, without a single hesitation, even though she had been a stranger to him. His willingness to befriend her so quickly was a product of his age, but Roxy appreciated it nonetheless. She had seen him and spoken to him so many times that it would be difficult for her to remember that he wasn't called 'Adikai' anymore.  
  
Or rather, it _would_ be a problem if she wasn't going to leave.  
  
Taki squeaked in surprise as Roxy suddenly scooped him up in a hug. He chuckled a little awkwardly, obviously not the biggest fan of hugs, but he hugged her back nonetheless.   
  
"I'm proud of you," Roxy said, "You're going to become an amazing warrior for this tribe. I know you'll do your very best to protect everyone that lives here. Right?"  
  
"Yeah!" Taki proclaimed, "Mother is going to start bringing me to the training area every day, and father tells me that I have to spar with him every full moon."  
  
Roxy released him from the hug and sat him back down on the ground. "You're gonna be amazing. I just know it."  
  
For a moment, Taki's exuberance seemed to die down a little bit, but his smile remained just as big. "Thank you, Roxy," he said, "I am glad that I got to meet you. It has been so much fun hearing about the human world."  
  
"Yeah, I'm glad I met you too," Roxy said with a nod.  
  
Taki glanced over his shoulder and saw that some of his friends were calling him over. He turned back to Roxy and gave her an apologetic sort of half smile.  
  
Roxy giggled and waved him off. "Go on," she said, "And congratulations once again…Taki."  
  
The Shinx nodded and gave her a wave of his paw before turning and running off.   
  
"He is the perfect image of his father, and that is a wonderful thing."  
  
Roxy glanced behind her to see who was talking. "Oh, Bamaka. Hello!"  
  
The older Pikachu warrior smiled down at her. "Hello to you as well. I hope you are enjoying tonight's festivities."  
  
"Yes! Absolutely!" She paused for a moment, holding back a sigh. "I definitely am enjoying it…"  
  
Bamaka chuckled. "I still remember when you got your first mark. You looked so befuddled."  
  
Roxy blushed at the slightly embarrassing memory. "Y-yeah…I didn't know what was goin' on."  
  
"You truly have come such a long way since I, and many others, first met you. It really is remarkable, and I am not just saying that."  
  
She paused for a moment as she looked at him, considering his words. Roxy still remembered when she had met Bamaka. He had been the first member of the tribe, aside from Makari and the wise ones, to accept her and come forth to welcome her. Among a crowd of strangers who looked at her like an alien that had dropped out of the sky, Bamaka had been the first to realize that she was just a Pikachu like they were. That willingness to accept her, even from just a single Pokémon, had meant a lot to her back then.  
  
"It's, ah…It's been a wild ride," was all she could think of saying.  
  
"You know…" Bamaka said, briefly gazing away in thought, "Having seen what you have managed to accomplish, I get the feeling that if life were to be unfortunate enough to force you to remain here for your entire life, you would end up doing just fine. Given enough time, you could even become a respected warrior. I fear that at times you do not give yourself enough credit."  
  
Upon seeing the conflicted look on her face, he added, "Of course, that is merely hypothetical. I am no stranger to your goals, Roxy. Whenever the day may come, soon or not so soon, I will always wish you luck on your journey home. When that day comes that you leave us, just remember that you will have the support of every one of us."  
  
Roxy stared up at him for a moment. "R…Really…?" she murmured.  
  
Bamaka smiled warmly and nodded. "Of course."  
  
A smile grew on her face as a warm feeling started to spread within her. "I…Thanks, Bamaka. That…actually means a lot to me," she said, trying to fight back tears.  
  
"We are your friends, and we all want the best for you." Something caught his eye, and he shifted his glance to behind her. "Is that not right?"  
  
Roxy turned around, curious as to what he was looking at, and saw a group of other Pikachu approaching her. All of them clan members she had grown close to, all of them friends. They started to join in the conversation, each one giving her the same praises and promises as Bamaka. The group even started to grow, until Roxy found herself surrounded by her friends. It made her head spin to hear such kindness from so many different Pokémon at once. She hadn't realized just how many members of the tribe had considered themselves proud of her.  
  
Roxy was smiling wide and hugging as many of them as she could. After all, as the group around her grew, so too did the number of Pokémon she realized she wouldn't ever see again. They were all smiling and laughing and patting her on the back, and not a single one of them knew that it would be the last time they spoke to her.  
  
She was about to excuse herself so she could go cry for a little bit, but she ended up running into Kiga and Adi. "Oh! Oh, hey," she said, and then took a moment to steady her mind.  
  
"Greetings, young one," Kiga said to her, smiling. Adi stood next to her silently.  
  
"Um…Congratulations to your son. You two must be very proud."  
  
They shared a glance, and then it was Adi who spoke up. "It is a reason to be proud, yes, I suppose."  
  
Kiga promptly whacked him in the backside with her tail.  
  
Adi turned to glare at her, but she just had a somewhat derisive look on her face. Adi cleared his throat. "Definitely…a reason to be proud."  
  
Roxy stifled a giggle and nodded. "I haven't had much of a chance to see him in action, unfortunately."  
  
"Our son is learning the ways of the warrior quite well," Kiga replied, "He may not be the strongest, but his ability to sneak up on his foes undetected is quite remarkable."  
  
"Soon, he will be standing guard on patrol," Adi added, "hiding from view, even to the most observant enemy, waiting to strike. A moment, barely a sound, and his foe drops to the ground dead."  
  
Roxy stood there in silence for a moment, just looking at the massive Luxray. It was a strange moment to realize it, but Roxy started to consider the fact that she was having a friendly conversation with a huge Luxray. A _wild, predatory_ Luxray. This was something she would not have even imagined when she had been back home. No Pokémon she had ever gotten to know had been any taller than Cédric the Furfrou.   
  
She chuckled as she thought about it. Roxy had been running away from predators in the forest when she had first found this sanctuary. She remembered how she had reacted upon learning there was a predator inside as well! She could still clearly remember her first meeting with Adi and his family. She recalled how they had all sniffed her vigorously, so as to remember her scent and register her as a 'friend'.  
  
She had really learned a lot while out here. Even basic survival in the wilderness was complicated and full of exceptions.  
  
"I just realized," Roxy said, "I never thanked you for your help earlier, Adi."  
  
He gave her a confused look. "Help?"  
  
"Yeah…When you painted yourself black and tried to kill me?"  
  
"Ah…" Adi said, and then he chuckled at the way she had phrased it. Roxy laughed right along with him.  
  
"It really did help me prepare for…well, y'know. I think it's going to help a lot for when I go home."  
  
He nodded. "I do not doubt it. You reacted to the presence of a predator perfectly. It may have been myself in disguise, but that matters not. Simply keep those same skills and reactions in mind, and I have no doubt that you will make it safely to the forest's edge."  
  
Roxy blinked, not used to hearing praise from the Luxray. "Wow…Gee, uh…Thanks!"  
  
Kiga stepped forward. "Thank you, as well, for being our son's friend," she said. Adi rolled his eyes, but she ignored him and continued. "Though _some_ do not agree with me, I know how important it is to have fun in life. Taki really enjoyed listening to you talk and playing games with him." She paused for a moment. "Some of the other cubs hesitated to interact with him, but you were not afraid."  
  
"Afraid…?"   
  
Kiga nodded. "Because he is a Shinx."  
  
"Oh…?" A moment later, the realization hit her. "…Oh."  
  
Now that she gave it some thought, she hadn't even considered the fact that Taki had been a predator. She had looked at his parents and seen predators, but not him. Roxy supposed it must have been because he was just too adorable to be one, but apparently some of the other cubs must have. A moment later, she started to think about the fact that Taki had eaten meat and was going to continue to do so.  
  
Roxy sighed, suppressing a shiver. It was just a reminder that, no matter how many friends she had out here, no matter how well she had adjusted to life in the forest, and no matter how happy she seemed and how sad she felt to leave, she still did not belong here. There were still some aspects of life in the wild with this tribe that she looked upon with the same timid, frightened eyes she'd had when she had first arrived.  
  
She realized she had been silent for a while, and so turned her head up to give the two a friendly smile. Even she could tell that it felt forced.  
  
"Well," Kiga said, glancing off, "I think our son has a moment of free time. We would like to go and speak with him now."  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, okay," Roxy said.  
  
Kiga smiled warmly, gave a friendly nod of her head, and then began to walk off. Adi stuck around for a moment, gazing down at her with those icy eyes that he always seemed to have. It was the kind of gaze that said 'I could kill you, and yet I will never raise my voice.'  
  
Adi then stuck out one of his paws. Roxy, to her own credit, didn't flinch. She stared at it in confusion for a while before realizing what he was doing. She reached out her own paw and placed it atop his.  
  
"Tribemate," Adi said, bowing his head just slightly.   
  
Roxy blinked, looking up at the creature that dwarfed her size at least ten times over, and then smiled. "Tribemate," she repeated. She could have sworn that he half-grinned, just a tiny bit and for a brief second, before he walked off.  
  
She stood there for a moment, feeling weird. There was a sick feeling growing in her stomach, and it took her a moment to realize that it was the feeling of something imminent. It was getting really late, and Taka had told her that they needed to leave during the festival, not after it, because then more tribe members would be distracted. Roxy started to let her eyes wander across all of the Pokémon she had just shared kind words with. All of the Pokémon she was probably looking at for the last time.  
  
She didn't see Taka anywhere, but she knew he would be nearby waiting for her. Like an aimless ghost, she found herself drifting towards the edge of the festivities, standing next to the last torch before darkness surrounded the area like a black dome. She knew she should probably take the initiative, but she really didn't want to. She wanted to spend just a few more minutes, even just a few more seconds, in the company of the Thunder Clan. She closed her eyes and let out an empty sigh. She didn't want it to be this way, and she wished there could be any other way. The desire to forget about her goals and stay with these wonderful Pokémon was so incredibly strong that it was dizzying.  
  
It was just that her desire to go home was even stronger.  
  
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and Roxy felt a sinking feeling in her stomach immediately. The time had come it seemed. It was time to run away. Roxy told herself to savour those last few seconds of seeing the Thunder Clan, and then she solemnly turned around.  
  
To both her surprise and relief, it wasn't Taka standing there. Instead, it was a warmly smiling Audino holding a Leppa Berry. "For you!" Miri said cheerfully, offering the berry to her.  
  
"O-Oh…" Roxy gingerly reached up and took the berry from Miri.  
  
Miri was smiling from ear to ear. "It was the last one at the food spread. I nabbed it for you because I know how much you love them."  
  
"Really?" Once again, Roxy simply stood there for a moment and looked up into the eyes of her friend. She wanted to force herself to just smile and pretend things were normal, but her poor exhausted brain was getting overwhelmed with emotions. When Miri nodded in answer to her question, Roxy hastily bit into the berry so she could buy time.  
  
The delectable taste of the berry almost washed away all of her worries.  
  
Miri giggled softly. "I always like to see a smile on your face."  
  
Roxy gulped down what was in her mouth and again looked up at Miri. She was about to open her mouth and thank her for both the berry and the compliment. Instead, though, he ended up half-collapsing forwards into a hug.  
  
Miri stumbled slightly as she caught her. "Ah! Goodness, Roxy. You are quite welcome," she said, giggling once more.  
  
"You're my bestest friend out here, Miri," Roxy mumbled into her fur.  
  
"Aw, Roxy. Such sweet words…"  
  
"I wish you could come with me when…when I leave…"  
  
She felt Miri patting her on the head. "I know, child… While I would indeed enjoy the thrill of seeing the human world, I am needed here."  
  
"I know…" Roxy mumbled.  
  
"You are a strong warrior now," Miri commented, "When the time comes for you to leave, you will have no need of a silly old Audino who cannot fight. I know you will be fine."  
  
Roxy stifled a sniffle and gave Miri a warm squeeze.  
  
"Come now, Roxy. Eat your berry before you drop it."  
  
Finally, Roxy released the Audino and gave her a Mareepish little grin. "Sorry…" she muttered, "It's been a…long day."  
  
Miri put on that same, sugar-sweet smile that she always seemed to have and shook her head. "There is no need to apologize for a surprise hug. Those are my favourite, after all."  
  
Roxy sighed softly as she stood there and faced Miri. Behind the Audino, there was nobody and nothing else except the darkness of the forest. As it stood, Miri was quite literally the last thing standing in her way from leaving. Roxy could feel every single fracture as her heart shattered into pieces.  
  
"I'm gonna miss you when I'm gone," she spoke.  
  
"I will as well," Miri replied, "but I will always remember you. I know that you will never forget myself, or _any_ one in this tribe for that matter. It has only been a couple of seasons, but many of us feel like we have known you for years."  
  
"Y-yeah…Heh, that's a good way to put it for me too…"  
  
Roxy then remembered the Leppa she was still holding and brought it up to take another bite. It was going to be hard to leave all of these Pokémon behind, but Miri would definitely be the hardest. She was such a kind, sweet, caring soul. Roxy couldn't bear the thought of just abandoning her and making her sad. Miri had been friendly to her since day one, and had always been there to tend to her wounds, be they wounds of the flesh or ones that cut deeper.  
  
Roxy took one last bite of the Leppa and, fittingly enough, glanced up to take one last look at Miri. She had been something special. Roxy had felt safe when in her company, even in this frightening forest. While she was obviously going to miss Miri a lot once she left, she was also going to miss that sensation of security while traveling through the woods.   
  
"I…don't think I ever truly thanked you for everything you've done for me," Roxy said, "So, I might as well do it now."  
  
"Oh, there is no need to thank me for anything," Miri replied with a wave of her paw, "I only did what anyone else would have done…"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "You did the most amazing thing, Miri. You…" Roxy trailed off and fidgeted or a moment. "…You helped me get through my most difficult moment."  
  
"Oh, Roxy…"  
  
"I…" A few tears started to form. "When I lost him…I…"  
  
Then, Roxy suddenly found herself wrapped up in yet another hug. She wanted to clench her eyes shut, lay her head down, and relive those horrible moments from her past all over again. Instead, though, she managed to smile and give Miri a friendly nuzzle.   
  
"Thanks for bein' a shoulder to cry on," Roxy mumbled.  
  
"Of course, Roxy…Any time…"  
  
The two continued to embrace for a while longer. Roxy felt like she didn't want to let go. She felt like once she let go, that would be the moment that she would leave everybody. After a minute or so had passed, she lifted her head and looked over Miri's shoulder.  
  
There was Taka, standing by the trees and shrouded by the darkness. He jerked his head to the side, silently saying to her, 'Time to go.'  
  
With a heavy heart, Roxy pulled herself away from the hug. She glanced up at Miri, and found herself at a loss for words. How does one say goodbye to someone without actually saying 'goodbye'?  
  
It was Miri's patient, caring smile that allowed her to get over her hesitations. "Well…" she said with a regretful smile, "My, uh…I'm gonna…" She glanced to the side. "I'm gonna go to sleep now…I feel totally worn out."  
  
It wasn't a complete lie. She was _emotionally_ worn out.  
  
Roxy had expected Miri to be concerned, or to try and convince her to stay for a while longer. Instead, simply nodded once and said, "Okay."  
  
"…Okay." After saying that, now was the point when she was supposed to walk off. Roxy found that she couldn't quite do it. Something else needed to be said, right? This would be the last thing she ever said to the Thunder Clan, after all. A couple moments of indecisive hovering later, Roxy let out a sigh.  
  
"Go and get some rest," Miri said, "It is okay, Roxy. You look tired."  
  
Roxy half chuckled. "I am…" she murmured.  
  
"Go on, then. The rest of us will still be here tomorrow when you wake up, safe and sound."  
  
At first, that statement felt like a knife right in her heart as it reminded her that when she woke up, she would be gone. After a moment, though, Roxy realized that it had a second meaning. Sure, she was going to be leaving all of her friends behind, but they would still be there tomorrow and they would all be safe. The Earth Tribe was gone, Natoka knew Grass Knot, and many young cubs like Taki were soon to become the clan's new warriors.   
  
Roxy smiled softly and nodded. "Thanks, Miri," she said, "I'll, uh…I'll see you…around…"  
  
Miri simply nodded and stood there with that perfect smile on her face. It looked like she didn't have a care in the world, and everything around her was always sunshine and rainbows. Roxy didn't want to think about what Miri's expression would be in the morning, but it was nice to see such a wonderful smile as she said goodbye.  
  
Roxy smiled too, unable to keep the sad look out of her eyes, and weakly waved her paw. She stole a glance behind Miri at the rest of the tribe, still dancing the night away. Even though none of them could see her, she waved at them as well.  
  
Then, before she could change her mind, she turned around.  
  
No sooner had she done so that Taka had grabbed her paw and was now quickly leading her through the pitch blackness. Without the light of the torches or the bonfire, they were in near pitch darkness. The few stars whose light was able to penetrate the canopy overhead were not nearly sufficient enough for her to see. She was basically running blind, and Taka was definitely _not_ moving at a slow pace.  
  
She was too depressed to care, though. She found herself looking over her shoulder at the slowly diminishing orange glow of the bonfire. She felt like half of her heart had remained at the festival and the rest of her had been torn off. Logically she should have been afraid that she was going to smack right into something, but she didn't have the energy to care.  
  
It was done. She had abandoned all of her friends.  
  
Once they had been running for a sufficient amount of time, Taka stopped and let go of her paw. She heard him fiddling with something, but she couldn't see him. A moment later, Taka's cheek pouches sparked to life and he shot a small bolt of electricity towards the ground. The torch he had laid there caught fire and he quickly picked it up.  
  
After her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, she was finally able to see Taka and her surroundings. A quick glance around confirmed that they had already left the village behind. Taka was standing there with that classic neutral-yet-somehow-displeased look on his face. She could see things strapped to his back, including his boomerang, a spear and some more torches. Hanging from both of his shoulders were leaf-woven satchels, like the one that Makari used to wear.  
  
Taka took one of the satchels off and handed it to her. "Here."  
  
Roxy took it wordlessly, feeling that it was a bit heavy but not too bad. She glanced inside and saw that it was mostly full of berries, but there were a few stones inside as well for some reason and maybe some other stuff underneath.  
  
"Food. Tool-sharpening. Water-rich leaves," Taka said, somehow reading her mind. He then reached down and picked up a spear, which he held out for her to take.  
  
That was all he had brought. Two bags of food and meager supplies, a few torches, and three  weapons. The nervousness about her dangerous journey finally began to start catching up with her. She stifled a whimper and took the spear from him.  
  
"We should not travel at night," Taka explained, "but for tonight, it is necessary. I will explain more once we leave Thunder Clan territory."  
  
He looked down at her as if he was expecting her to say something. Roxy tried to form words on her tongue, but found that her insides were all twisted up. She was worried, scared and guilty all at the same time. She glanced over her shoulder once more, but she couldn't see the bonfire anymore.  
  
"Understand?" Taka said, somewhat forcefully.  
  
Roxy gulped. "Y-yeah…"  
  
He jerked his head off to the side. "Then come. I know how to get past the patrols without being seen. Stay close to me, and do not stop."  
  
"Okay…" she murmured gloomily.  
  
Taka set off at a rather brisk pace, considering he was on two feet and holding up the torch. Roxy kept up and followed behind him. She tried to clear her mind, put what she'd done behind her, and focus on the fact that she was starting her journey home. It was meant to be exciting, but it would also be something that would require a lot of her focus. Once they left Thunder Clan territory, she knew she would have to keep vigil for approaching predators.  
  
For the moment, though, she was just running through the dark and following a moving flame. It was a relatively mindless task that allowed her thoughts to wander. Regret began to form in her mind, and a couple of times she seriously considered going back and just telling them that she was leaving. Damn the consequences.   
  
Perhaps it had been a mistake to leave during the festival. It was such a happy time for all of them, and she would be the reason that so many would be sad immediately following it. That was basically the pinnacle of being a 'downer'.   
  
She thought back to all of those wonderful, smiling faces that she had now officially seen for the last time. The truth hit her like a ton of bricks. She had been thinking it nonstop, but now she had actually, truly seen all of them for the last time. Unless she gave up and turned around, she would never see the Thunder Clan again.  
  
That was certainly a depressing thought that only made her sigh even harder. If it hadn't been for the Thunder Clan, she wouldn't even be alive right now. She had so much to thank them for. So many kind, selfless Pokémon that had come together, one way or another, to make sure she was safe and cared for. Roxy felt like she had made a positive impression on all of them, which only made it harder to tear herself away from them.  
  
They had all been so kind and thoughtful at the festival. Every one of them had nothing but kind and uplifting things to say to her. She couldn't count the number of hugs she had received. Many of them had mentioned how much they believed in her and had expressed confidence that she would make it home alright. It had been such a warm, heartfelt moment with all of them. In a way, it almost _had_ been a goodbye.  
  
Roxy nearly stopped in her tracks. _Had they all…?_  
  
"We are nearing the edge of our territory."  
  
Nearly jumping out of her skin, Roxy suddenly remembered that she wasn't alone out here in the dark. Taka hadn't spoken a word until now, and so it had easily caught her off guard. "Oh! Um, okay… Good?"  
  
She realized a moment later that she had subconsciously started readying her spear.  
  
"Patrol does not often venture this far."  
  
Roxy gulped, but nodded. "Right…" She realized that this meant they had already gotten past the patrols. That had seemed rather easy. "Where are we?" she then asked, "Are we near the bathing spot."  
  
"No. Opposite direction."  
  
She knew where the bathing area was in relation to the village. Based on the way the sun moved, she knew that this meant they were traveling almost due north.  
  
"In a few minutes, we will come to a shallow river. That marks the edge of our territory."  
  
"Okay…"'  
  
Roxy understood that they were getting to the really important parts now, so she told herself to shut up both verbally and mentally, and simply focused on following him. After a bit more running, she found herself glancing around and realized just how dark it was. Aside from Taka and anything within paw's reach of him, she couldn't see _any_ thing.  
  
A few moments later, though, she realized that she could hear running water. They must have been getting close. Taka simply continued forward with a resolute look on his face, and Roxy just stayed close behind him. The torch's fire didn't illuminate very much, but she thought she started seeing the edge of a river bank.  
  
One of Taka's ears twitched. A moment later, he used one paw to roughly shove her to the side as he stepped in front of her. With his other paw, he tossed the torch into the first one, then used it to draw and fling his boomerang, all in the span of about a tenth of a second. Roxy didn't even have time to gasp until after the fact.  
  
Taka stood still for a moment, facing the direction they had come from and using his body to shield her. Roxy was more confused than anything. What had he heard? What was out there? She hadn't heard a thing. His boomerang hadn't come back, though.  
  
"You can be so predictable sometimes, Taka…"  
  
Roxy gasped again. She knew that voice. That wasn't the voice of an enemy. Taka realized this as well and relaxed his posture. He then stepped forward, holding the torch in front of him so that they could see their unexpected guest.  
  
"…Karizu!" Roxy quietly exclaimed.  
  
The Raichu was standing there, half hidden behind a tree. One of his paws was fully extended outwards, having caught Taka's boomerang effortlessly. He has a smirk on his face, but Roxy didn't think it looked antagonistic at all.  
  
"This was where you went last time," Karizu spoke as he stepped out from behind the tree, "This was as far as we could track you before your scent disappeared. I had a feeling that you would pass through here again."  
  
Taka just stood there, not speaking a single word. Roxy wasn't sure how to describe his expression, but she was leaning towards 'grumpy'.  
  
Karizu glanced at her, causing her to flinch back slightly, and then he calmly walked over and gave Taka back his boomerang. Taka took it wordlessly, not breaking eye contact with the Raichu once.  
  
Roxy really wasn't sure what to make of this. She was happy to see one of the Pokémon she thought she would have never seen again, but they had also just been caught red-pawed trying to run away.   
  
"So," Karizu spoke up, almost sounding conversational, "You decided to make off in the middle of the night when no-one could see you? You have taken your charge on this journey of yours, despite the wishes and demands of many others?"  
  
Taka still didn't move or say anything. His body looked tense. A brief jolt of fear ran up Roxy's spine as she wondered if Taka was considering getting violent.  
  
Karizu then glanced over at her, but didn't say anything. She shrank back a bit again, feeling like a cub who had just been caught with her paws in the cookie jar. "Uhh…Hi," she said lamely.  
  
"Good evening, young one," he replied, "I hope Taka has not been too rough with you."  
  
She frowned and fiddled with the spear in her paws. The tension in the air was too much for her to take, and so she decided to just break the ice entirely.  
  
"Do we have to go back now…?" she asked in a very quiet voice.  
  
Karizu looked down at her for what felt like an eternity without saying anything. Roxy found herself sweating all over. Karizu's answer had always been that Taka couldn't leave, so why would it change now? The jig was up.  
  
The Raichu then let out a soft sigh and instead turned to face Taka. "Tell me something…" he said.  
  
Taka raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Is your mind truly set?" Karizu asked, "Is this the decision you have come to…that you are certain you want to fulfill? At the end of the day, no matter what, you will still wish to leave the forest and bring this young one home?"  
  
Roxy glanced at Taka as well, both nervous and curious to hear what his answer would be.  
  
Taka stood still for a moment with a tiny frown on his face. Roxy figured if he wasn't holding two things, he'd be standing with his forelimbs crossed. After another achingly long awkward silence, Taka nodded subtly and said, "It is."  
  
Yet another lapse of silence between the two, and then Karizu smiled. He didn't look particularly happy; it was more of a sad smile. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "That is the way it is, then…" he said.  
  
Roxy tilted her head slightly in confusion, and Taka knotted his brow.   
  
"You are well known to me, Taka…and to everyone in our tribe. The simple truth is that once you have your mind set on something, that is something you will do. If your decision has been made, then what is the point of trying to change it?"  
  
His words reached her brain, but it took her a minute to fully process them. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't just hearing things. "Y…You mean…?" she ventured.  
  
Karizu glanced away, though he still had that sad smile on his face. "It does not make me happy…and there are a number of others who would share my sentiment…but, Taka, it seems like there is no point in stopping you, is there?"  
  
Taka looked like he was about to say something, but Roxy didn't let him. She had beaten him to the punch by tackling Karizu into as big a hug as she could muster. "Thank you!" she quietly exclaimed, "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!"  
  
Karizu seemed caught off guard for a moment, but then relented and hugged her back. "I know, young one…I know…"  
  
"You really mean it?" she asked incredulously, "Taka- he- I-…We can go?!"  
  
The Raichu sighed softly and nodded, making Roxy quietly squeal with joy once more. It took her another minute or so to recognize how much of a scene she was making and finally backed off.  
  
Taka had barely moved an inch, but Roxy could see, standing beside him, that the look in his eyes had changed. Taka often carried with him a lot of darkness and loathing, even among the ones he loved. Roxy could see that a lot of it had been drained out.  
  
"…Truly?" was all he said.  
  
Karizu nodded. "It is clear to me, now…" he said, and then trailed off for a moment. He scratched his chin and then picked up his train of thought once more. "All of us have a place in this world, every one of us. It has taken me far too long to see, Taka, that yours is simply not here." His expression became regretful. "You were born here, you were raised here, and you are loved here," he said in a quieter voice, "This place shall always be your home, but your place in this world is somewhere else. There is no point in keeping you here."  
  
He then turned to face her and his expression brightened a little. "Besides," he said with a chuckle, "At least this time, you are doing this for a noble cause."  
  
Roxy turned and gave Taka a smile. He shifted his gaze and regarded her for a moment, before looking back up at Karizu.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" he said.  
  
Karizu actually laughed at that. "No!", he replied, "Of course I am not sure about this. One can never be sure of anything in life, after all." He chuckled and shook his head. "It matters not," he continued, "Our tribe survived before you were born, so we will manage to push on without you. You are our strongest warrior, and it is a heavy burden to lose you, but…I think many of us have been overlooking the skills of others."  
  
"Yeah!" Roxy piped up, "You got Adik- I mean Taki, and Natoka knows Grass Knot now, and… Well, you're all just so awesome. I was impressed with every one of you from the moment I met you. You all do amazing things!"  
  
"No-one wishes to view you as a tool, Taka," Karizu said, "If your heart is telling you that happiness lies elsewhere, then find it." He sighed softly. "I think you deserve it, after all."  
  
Taka paused for a moment as he considered this, and then he nodded his head towards the Raichu. "Very well, then," he spoke, "You have my gratitude, Karizu. Please extend my thanks to the rest of the tribe."  
  
Roxy perked up suddenly as a thought hit her. "Oh! Gosh, um…We should probably, uh… go back and say goodbye to everybody, right? Now that it's not a secret, or…?"  
  
It was Karizu who shook his head at this. "There is no need," he spoke, "I will give both of your well wishes to the entire tribe. You have already started your journey, and it is not advisable to turn back now. Keeping your eyes on your goal is important."  
  
Mixed emotions filled her upon hearing this. "Really?" she asked. She gave it a bit of thought and, truth be told, she _did_ actually want to keep going and not have to turn back. Leaving the village had gotten her momentum started.  
  
"But…" she murmured, "What about our friends…? I…"  
  
Karizu stepped forward and put a paw on her shoulder, causing her to look up into his eyes. "Roxy," he spoke, "When we lose a member of the tribe, the way we remember them is through silence. There is no need to repeat the virtues of their lives, because they have already lived them."  
  
Roxy was quiet as she listened to his reassuring words. Those were the same customs associated with the tribe's funerals. She thought about and realized, in a way, both cases involved saying goodbye to somebody.  
  
"So…" she ventured, "No-one will be mad if we just leave without saying goodbye?"  
  
Karizu chuckled softly. "Well, not to put it so bluntly. So long as I _explain_ where you have gone, no-one will be upset. So long as no-one has been left behind on bad terms…right?"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "No. No-one at all." Then, after a few moments of thought, she decided to ask what she had been wondering for the past little while. "Um…Karizu? Did, uh…Did everybody already know? It sorta, kinda, maybe seemed like everyone was using the festival as a way to kind of say goodbye to me anyway…sorta." Roxy frowned at her own muddled words.  
  
The Raichu looked confused for a moment, then chuckled once more and said, "If anybody else knew, they did not tell me. However, I would not be surprised."  
  
Glancing away for a moment, Roxy thought about this. She really wasn't sure if she was right about this or not. No-one had really given away any really obvious hints, but at the same time, everything they had all said was stuff one might say at a goodbye party.  
  
Smiling to herself, Roxy decided to believe that they had, in fact, all known.   
  
"Tell them they're all wonderful, okay?" she said to the Raichu, "And make them all promise to keep being wonderful. Arceus forbid anyone else having to go through what I did, but if they find another pet lost in the forest…Well, I'm sure you will all do the right thing."  
  
"Of course," Karizu said with a nod.  
  
Roxy smiled warmly for the first time in a while. It felt like a weight had been taken off of her mind. She glanced over at Taka, whose mood also seemed to have brightened just a bit, and then at the torch. She realized that it wouldn't burn forever.  
  
"Well, uh…" she said, "I guess we should get moving, right Taka?"  
  
"Indeed," he replied.  
  
"We've got a long way to go… Gosh, this _is_ kinda harder." She chuckled to herself. "Well, thanks again, Karizu. Thanks for everything, and thanks to the Thunder Clan for everything they've done for me. I literally owe them my life."  
  
"It is no trouble, Roxy," he spoke, "We were just glad to have met you."  
  
Roxy nodded. "Me too. I'll never forget any of you." She then glanced over at Taka, hoping he would take the charge and take those first few steps away, because she couldn't quite make herself do it.  
  
"Wait," Karizu spoke up, "Before you go, I have one last parting gift for you…"  
  
Both Roxy and Taka turned and gave the Raichu an intrigued look. At his beckoning, they both took a few steps closer. Karizu reached into his own leaf satchel and fished around for a moment with his paw, before eventually pulling something out of it. He carried it gingerly in both paws and held it out towards them.  
  
Roxy's eyes grew wide as she stared down at the Thunder Stone. It gave off a faint greenish glow that helped illuminate the immediate area. Like before, Roxy could feel the rush of energy from simply being near one of them.   
  
Taka was also looking at it with wide eyes. He stared at it for a while, and then turned his gaze upwards. "What…?"  
  
Karizu sighed. "This was to be your brother's."  
  
Roxy felt a sting in her heart upon hearing that fact again. Makari's lost chance to become a Raichu was still something that pained her to this very day, and it started to cloud her mind with dark thoughts. She quickly shooed them away.  
  
"It…was?" Taka spoke softly. Roxy could see a mix of emotions going through the usually-stoic Pikachu. She saw a flash of grief, and then a few moments of anger, until finally he closed his eyes with what looked like cold acceptance.   
  
"He would have been a fine choice," Taka said.  
  
Karizu nodded. Then, after a few moments of silence, he held the stone out a bit closer to him.  
  
"Take it," he said.  
  
Roxy's eyes opened even wider, as did Taka's. They both stared down at the glowing stone and then, almost in unison, looked back up at Karizu in confusion and disbelief.  
  
"What?" Taka spoke, bewildered.  
  
Karizu smiled softly. "Take it," he repeated, "Use its power. Become stronger, so that you may keep her safe and guide her home."  
  
Roxy's jaw was falling open slightly. She was floored by what she had just heard Karizu say. He was offering their Thunder Stone, the rarest and most precious thing to the entire tribe, to Taka? Just like that? Roxy was literally speechless.  
  
Taka's eyes shifted back and forth between Karizu and the stone. Slowly, his brow knotted and he started to look a little skeptical. "Are…you serious?" he asked, "You…really want me to have this?"  
  
Karizu nodded. "It is dangerous out there. You will face many hardships, some much worse than you may have faced on your first journey." He smiled softly and glanced over at Roxy. "There is no-one in the whole tribe who does not wish to see this young one home safely. We want to make sure that can happen."  
  
Taka was just staring at the stone now, as if entranced. Roxy watched him, still not quite believing what was happening. She tried to imagine what Taka might look like as a Raichu, but she just couldn't. She'd known him as a Pikachu for too long.   
  
It felt like the air around them had grown still, like the fire on the torch was still burning but the flames were not moving. Karizu continued to offer the stone to Taka, not showing a hint of regret or second-guessing. Taka neither reached for the stone, nor pushed it away. It looked like a thousand thoughts were silently running through his mind.   
  
"Take it," Karizu urged one more time, "I promise you, it is okay. What you are doing is bold and gallant, and we want to help out however we can."  
  
Taka continued to gaze down at the stone as Karizu spoke. It looked like there was some indecision in his expression. This was, after all, the stone that had meant to be given to his brother. It seemed like Taka was wondering if it was okay in his mind, or in his brother's mind, if he were to take it for himself. Besides, he wasn't being offered a position as a 'Wise One', which is what the stones usually signified. This was merely a gift so that he could be a more powerful Pokémon that would be able to keep Roxy safe. It was an extremely generous offer, and it certainly was tempting.   
  
Then, Taka dropped his boomerang and ever so slowly began to lift his paw. With his eyes still glued to the glowing stone, he slowly raised his paw, held it still in the air for a moment, and then began to reach towards the stone. There was a strange look in his eyes. There was no excitement or sense of pride. There was still a look of hesitation and indecision, but it was masked by a sense of determination. His paw drifted closer, until it was hovering so close to the stone that the glow was painting his paw a muddled green colour. One could almost see the strands of his fur standing straight up.  
  
Before he could touch it, though, Roxy stepped in front of him. She grasped Karizu's paws with her own, careful not to touch the stone, and curled his digits back around it.  
  
"Keep it."  
  
Both Karizu and Taka looked at her, confused. "Roxy…?" Karizu said.  
  
She smiled at him. It was a hesitant, nervous sort of smile, but it was genuine. "Keep it," she said solemnly, "Someone here needs it more than we do."  
  
Karizu looked back at her in bewilderment for a moment, then glanced down at his own paws closed around the stone. Taka, meanwhile, had been staring at her in disbelief. When she turned to give him a reassuring grin, he pulled his paw back in close to his body and looked at it in a weird way. He almost looked like he was thankful it was still attached to his body.  
  
"Roxy, are…are you sure?" Karizu asked her, "This is our gift to you. You may have it."  
  
She turned back to him and nodded. "I know. Thank you very much for the thought, but…" She gave Taka a sidelong glance for a moment before continuing. "I trust Taka. He's an amazing Pokémon. He's really strong, and he's the most amazing fighter I've ever seen in my life. I know the stone would probably help, but…I don't think we need it."  
  
"…I see," Karizu said.  
  
Her smile softened. "Karizu…you and Natoka have an important job. You are the glue that holds that tribe together. Everybody looks up to you. And, well…" Her gaze shifted down to the ground. "Now that you've lost Ozu…"  
  
Karizu's expression fell and he glanced away.  
  
Roxy spent a few moments looking at the stone in Karizu's paws, but then said, "Don't worry about us. I think we'll be fine." She then turned to look at Taka. "Right?"  
  
Taka looked at her, then at the stone, then back at her and, after a pause, smiled just a little bit and nodded once. He then promptly reached down and picked his boomerang back up and secure it on his back.  
  
Roxy grinned, glad to see that her sentiments were shared. A small part of her did want to let Taka take the stone so that she would have a strong and powerful Raichu on her side, even if Raichu still discomforted her a tad. Mostly, though, it just didn't feel right. Knowing the purpose of the stones within the tribe and their rarity, she knew she couldn't just take it. It wasn't like one could go buy five at a nearby department store.  
  
Karizu still seemed a bit thrown by this turn of events, but a moment later he simply shook his head and laughed softly. He put the Thunder Stone back into his pouch and then regarded her with a smile. She smiled back, and then he took a step closer to her and rested a paw on her shoulder.  
  
"Young _Ra-ka-si…_ " he half-whispered, "Small, brave warrior…and hero of our tribe…"  
  
Roxy blushed a little as she looked up at him and smiled from the praise. "I-I'm no hero…" she murmured, "I'm just me…"  
  
Karizu spent a few silent moments just looking at her. Then, he turned his gaze up to look at Taka. "Keep her safe, okay?" he said to him, "Guide her home in one piece. We all have faith in you, Taka, whether you believe it or not." He then raised his paw and gave her a few friendly pats on the head. "She deserves all the happiness in the world after what she has gone through."  
  
Roxy turned and glanced over her shoulder at Taka. She saw him nod at Karizu confidently.  
  
He then eyed the torch in his paws, and Roxy realized that they had already spent quite a lot of time dawdling. "We…We should go…" she said.  
  
The whole spiel of taking that one last look, and saying that one last goodbye, was all happening again. She felt that same bittersweet heartbreak as she stepped away from Karizu and moved back to Taka's side. The Raichu watched them with a fond smile on his face.  
  
"Goodbye, Karizu," Roxy said, "Thanks again for everything."  
  
He bowed his head to her. "Safe journey, Roxy. To you as well, Taka."  
  
Taka was silent for a moment, but then bowed his head as well. Even still, he didn't say a word. Roxy wasn't upset by this, and it looked like Karizu wasn't either. They both knew that was just how Taka operated.  
  
Almost a whole minute of silence passed, with neither side looking like they wanted to take the first step in the opposite direction.  
  
Then, without warning, Taka tapped her on her shoulder with his free paw. She barely had time to turn her head before she saw him toss the torch into the air, letting it tumble ninety degrees so it was horizontal before expertly catching it between his teeth. He then set down on all fours and took off running.   
  
Roxy had no choice but to quickly take off after him, lest she be left alone in the dark.  
  
All she got was one last glimpse over her shoulder.


	25. Unpaid Debt

As the early springtime sunrise began to peek through the leaves of the trees above, Roxy yawned and stretched out her paws.  
  
Then her heart practically jumped out of her throat as she scrambled to get a grip on the branch she had nearly fallen off of.   
  
After she took a few breaths to calm her pounding heart, Roxy reminded herself that she had fallen asleep on the branch of a tree. Memories of the previous night quickly came flooding back to her. After bidding farewell to Karizu, Taka had led her quite a ways outside of Thunder Clan territory. She had been pretty anxious, especially since they were traveling in the dark, but luckily they hadn't encountered anything.  
  
Then, Taka had picked a tree and instructed her to sleep in it for the rest of the night. She had thought that she might be too nervous and/or excited to even get to sleep, but slumber had come surprisingly easily.   
  
Now, the sun was rising and casting a bit of light down into the forest, allowing Roxy to finally see her surroundings. Unsurprisingly, it looked just like any other part of the forest she had already seen. She figured she should probably get used to it, as it would be all she would be seeing for the next long while.  
  
She glanced over to her side, seeing Taka standing up on his hindpaws on the branch and leaning against the trunk. He gave her a quick look and a nod of acknowledgement. It took Roxy a moment to realize what had happened.  
  
"Did you…stay up _all_ night?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Someone always needs to keep watch," he said, "When I traveled alone, going to sleep every night was a risk to my own life. Thankfully, that will not be an issue as we travel together."  
  
Roxy blinked, feeling like the question had been dodged. "But you…you didn't get any sleep last night."  
  
He merely shook his head.  
  
"Why didn't you wake me up and tap out?"  
  
"Not necessary. The night was short. You'd had a long day."  
  
This made Roxy pout a little. "Taka, I hope you're not thinking of me as a burden or anything. Obviously you're much more strong and capable than I am, but if there's something I can do to help, I wanna do it!"  
  
He shook his head again, seeming a little annoyed. "Obviously, I am not going to make this entire journey without getting a single minute of sleep. What do you take me for?"  
  
Roxy opened her mouth to respond, but then stopped herself. She closed her mouth and frowned. Then, she sighed and shrugged. "Thank you, Taka," she said, "That was very thoughtful of you."  
  
Taka gave her a sidelong glance, then smirked and shook his head derisively. Roxy couldn't help but smirk back.  
  
She then stood up, carefully balancing herself on the branch, and did a proper stretch. Yesterday had been a very emotional day, but it had also allowed her to get a lot of the negative emotions out of her system. Now, waking up on a branch in a tree in enemy territory on her way home? It was rather invigorating.  
  
Roxy's stomach growled quietly, reminding her that breakfast was a thing.  
  
"Right," Taka commented upon hearing it, "Take one berry out and eat while I lay some ground rules."  
  
"Oh! Okay, sure." It took her a moment to remember that she was still wearing that leaf-woven satchel, and then she reached back and fished out a berry. It ended up being a Sitrus.  
  
"One berry from our pouches for breakfast," Taka explained, "Everything else we eat, we have to forage."  
  
Roxy gulped down her bite and looked at him in confusion. "Why? We've got lots of-"  
  
"It is to prevent us from running _out_ of food. If we are really beginning to starve, we will eat more from our pouch, but finding food along the way and storing extra is what will allow us to make sure we have food at all times."  
  
"Oh…" Roxy took another bite and thought about this. "Okay, sure. I guess that makes sense."  
  
"Stay close behind me at all times," Taka said, diving right into the next set of rules, "Keep your weapon drawn unless you need all four paws to climb something. We each get half of the night to sleep, while the other keeps watch." He paused and gave her a serious look. "I _trust_ you to remain _vigilant_."  
  
Roxy quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course. I will, Taka. I will." She put the last bite of the berry in her mouth and swallowed it down before continuing. "You're doing so much for me, Taka. I'm not gonna take you for granted."  
  
Taka looked satisfied by this response and nodded.   
  
Having said that, though, Roxy now found herself thinking about the road that lay ahead. Her difficult journey home through the forest had already begun. A brief jolt of fear ran up her spine as she was reminded that they were already in enemy territory. The clan was no longer there to protect her. Should they meet a predator, it would be up to them to fight it.  
  
That familiar sense of self-doubt began to attack her mind once more. The full gravity of what she was about to undertake hit her all at once, and she could feel her anxiety poking at her and trying to get her to worry about every little thing that could possibly happen. It started to really feel like she was putting her own life on the line as a gamble.  
  
But there was also a shot of exhilaration causing her heart to pump and her blood to get flowing. No matter how scary the journey might seem, and would probably end up being, Roxy could not ignore the goal they were now actually, truly heading towards. She was going home. She would finally get to see her master again. The simple thought made her heart flutter with anticipation.   
  
It felt like just the thought of hugging her master would be enough to push her forward.  
  
"If possible, we will flee from any violent encounter," Taka said, "There is no sense in stoking one's pride on a journey like this."  
  
Roxy realized that Taka was still laying ground rules and hoped that she hadn't missed anything.  
  
"Heed my instructions. If I tell you to do something, it is probably because doing so is going to save your life. So do it."  
  
She nodded. "You got it, Taka. You're the boss," she said without a hint of sarcasm. Roxy had _no_ qualms at all about letting Taka take charge.  
  
The other Pikachu was silent for a moment before he glanced over at her. "One more rule," he said in a quieter tone of voice.  
  
"Yeah?" she replied with a tilt of her head.  
  
"There is no looking back."  
  
Roxy just looked at him, not quite sure how to respond to that.  
  
"Whatever happens, for better or worse, come heaven or hell, Arceus or Yveltal…Do not look back. We will not return to the Thunder Clan."  
  
She gulped. This was something she had thought of before and had even said it to herself, but hearing it out loud made it seem all the more daunting. A small, anxious part of her mind was still begging her to just go back to the village where she would at least be relatively safe.  
  
"No looking back," she repeated firmly.  
  
"Good," Taka replied, seeming satisfied with her conviction.  
  
There was a brief lull in the conversation before Roxy decided to ask some questions of her own. "So, how long do you think it will take to get to the forest edge? Or, rather, how long did it take you last time?"  
  
Taka was in thought for a moment. "Hmm…I did not pay attention to the passage of time. It was more than a week, but far shorter than a whole season."  
  
Roxy gulped. She had no frame of reference for this sort of thing, and found herself wondering if it were possible they would be escaping the forest for a whole month. Could a forest even _be_ that big?  
  
"What about friends?" she asked. When Taka gave her an odd look, she clarified. "I mean, did you come across anyone nice along the way? Maybe another tribe that was friendly and could help us?"  
  
"Oh," he answered, "Yes, I did. However, if you were to ask me to take you to one of them, I could not."  
  
"Right…" Roxy said. Taka obviously didn't have a GPS device in his pouch.  
  
Satisfied with his answer, Roxy took a moment to glance out at the forest that lay ahead of them. She knew that if she were to climb to the top of this tree, she would still only be able to see forest until it reached the tops of the small mountains and to the horizons. This was an extremely daunting task that she was about to face.  
  
Roxy was terrified. There was no point in lying about it. Every nerve in her body, every iota of her frightened little brain, were all trying to convince her that she was unprepared for a journey like this. Her treacherous mind kept questioning how well she would do should they meet a predator, and if she was strong enough to survive the long journey anyway. There was a noticeable feeling of discomfort in the middle of her chest, a manifestation of the sense of dread she felt deep within her.  
  
Instead of panicking, though, she let out a slow sigh. She acknowledged all of her dark thoughts, because some of them were in fact quite valid, but then focused her mind on the flipside. She _had_ been training for this journey for months at this point, and she did know how to fight. She didn't want to and she wasn't the best at it, but she _could_. Furthermore, Taka would be right there with her every step of the way. When she failed, he would be there to step up. No matter how close they may have been as friends or not, Roxy knew she could put her _full_ confidence in him.  
  
"I guess I just got one more question then," she said.  
  
He raised his eyebrow as if to ask 'What is it?'  
  
She grinned at him, feeling invigorated. "When can we go?"  
  
A moment or two passed where Taka didn't answer. Then, however, a satisfied grin appeared on his face. "No time like the present," he replied, and then started to hop down the tree branches without even awaiting a response.  
  
Roxy chuckled to herself as she followed him. She had been seeing him smile a lot more lately. It was always a sort of mix between a smile and an outright smirk, but it was still there. Taka had always said he didn't feel like he belonged in the village, so maybe being outside of it would bring out a whole new side to his personality.  
  
Her paws landed on the forest floor and she stood up next to him. Roxy decided to impress him by immediately remembering rule number three, and drew her spear. She watched as he stood still for a moment, and she figured that he was assessing their surroundings. It didn't seem like he detected anything, so he threw her a glance over his shoulder.  
  
"Let's go," he said, and then he set his paws and got ready to run. Roxy gripped her spear with anticipation, hovering close behind him and waiting for him to take the first step. Then, a moment later, he began to run forwards. Roxy didn't hesitate to fall into step behind him.  
  
Then, the ground in front of them exploded.  
  
Roxy reflexively threw up her paws to shield her face from the sudden burst of dirt. In doing so, she lost her balance and ended up on her rump. Taka let out a surprised grunt, and then something else growled. It was a deep, angry growl that sent a shiver down her spine.  
  
She shook her head to clear the dust from her face so she could see properly. When she finally managed to look up, all she saw was a great looming figure about to crash down on her. Flashbacks of her encounter with the Mightyena ripped through her mind.   
  
Roxy didn't even have time to scream, or even just to hold her paw up in meager defense, before something else intercepted the large figure and tackled it to the ground nearly. Roxy was stunned for a short moment, but then she shook it off and quickly scrambled to stand back up. When she looked over to see what the heck had just happened, she saw Taka standing in a battle ready pose with his boomerang out, staring down another Pokémon.  
  
She gasped in shock as she found herself staring at none other than Tazoka. The mighty Excadrill was bent forward with all of his claws out, ready to pounce, and with a furious expression on his face. Clumps of dirt were falling off of his body, revealing that he had been underground a moment before. The explosion in the ground had been _him_ suddenly unearthing himself.  
  
Tazoka had death in his eyes. He was glaring down at Taka with a look that could almost kill on its own. It was as if Tazoka saw Taka as the sole reason for all of the suffering in the whole world.   
  
With a wild cry, the Excadrill suddenly darted forward with his claws, aiming to impale them right through Taka's stomach. Taka leapt out of the way and batted the claw away with the brunt of his boomerang, before landing on the ground and sidestepping even further. Tazoka was forced to turn so as to keep the Pikachu in his field of view, but that didn't stop him from wildly lashing out again.  
  
Taka barely dodged this time. So, with a determined look in his eyes, he quickly tossed his boomerang directly towards Tazoka's face. It struck him right in the muzzle, causing him to cry out in pain. He lashed out once more, though, even though he couldn't see. Taka was forced to jump right over it. Tazoka was clearly enraged. He was fighting with much less finesse and much more frenzy.   
  
Tazoka raised one of his claws into the air, ready to bring it down right on top of Taka's head. The Pikachu stood his ground, a focused look on his face as he stared at his opponent, and waited for the perfect moment to dodge.   
  
Instead, tendrils of grass suddenly wrapped around Tazoka's forelimb and started pulling it back, causing him to exclaim in surprise.  
  
Roxy stood with her forepaws out, surrounded by four blades of grass alongside the two that had ensnared the Excadrill. Once she had seen just who her opponent was, she had been able to figure out what course of action to take fairly quickly. The beating of her heart and the heaviness of her breathing were still a clear sign of just how frightened she was, but she had forced herself to get over them quickly. While she watched Taka engage with Tazoka, knowing full well that he was distracting the Excadrill, Roxy had built up the power to unleash a Grass Knot.  
  
Now, however, Tazoka's attention was all on her. He shot her a glare that made her feel like she should have erupted in flames. Then he set his hind paws into the ground and pulled with his forelimb as hard as he could. Roxy saw what he was doing and tried to focus energy into keeping the grass lengths strong, but she could see that it wouldn't be long before he snapped them.   
  
That's when Taka seized his own opportunity and whacked Tazoka with his boomerang right in his belly.  Tazoka wheezed as the air was knocked out of him, causing him to stumble back a few steps.  
  
Roxy quickly capitalized on this by using two of the remaining grass lengths to wrap around one of Tazoka's hind limbs and pull it out from under him. In a quick moment, Tazoka ended up flat on his back with one forelimb still tangled up in grass.  
  
It almost seemed as if Tazoka hardly cared about this predicament. With teeth barred, he quickly flipped over onto his stomach and used his free claw to swipe at Taka. The Pikachu leapt back out of range, but Tazoka just pulled himself along the ground to catch up with him and swung again. Taka was forced to bat the swipe away with his boomerang.  
  
This continued for a tense couple of seconds, which Roxy used to gather the energy to raise two more grass strands. Together with the two remaining unused ones, she sent them both directly towards Tazoka when he wasn't paying attention. Two of them wrapped around his free claw and yanked it around behind his back. The final two, she carefully wove in between the other strands to create a complicated knot, effectively tying Tazoka's claws behind his back.  
  
Tazoka roared in frustration and tried to free himself, but Roxy had created more of a tangle than a knot. When he tried to get up, she focused all of her energy on keeping the grass strands taut. It caused her a lot of strain, but she was able to keep him anchored to the ground.  
  
Taka, satisfied that his foe was incapacitated, moved back to stand next to her. "Good job," he commented quickly.  
  
Roxy was briefly caught off guard by the compliment. "Uh…Thanks!"  
  
" _Damn you!_ "  
  
Both Pikachu looked down at the tied-up Excadrill as he began to shout.  
  
"I will _kill_ you! I will _destroy_ you both!"  
  
Taka put his forepaws on his hips. "What is this, Tazoka? Being attacked by you is no surprise at this point, but all alone?" Roxy felt a brief jolt of fear as she wondered if other Earth Tribe members were hiding nearby, but then Taka added, "I can sense none of your comrades."  
  
"This is all _your_ fault!" Tazoka spat venomously as he turned his head to glare directly at Roxy.  
  
She shrank back a little in fear. "Wh-" she muttered, "What's all my fault?"  
  
Tazoka tried once more to escape his bonds, and growled viciously when he could not. "We are the Earth Tribe! We hold every power over your tiny, pathetic tribe! It should have been easy… _effortless_ …to drive you out!!"  
  
Roxy and Taka shared a quick glance, remembering the day of the invasion.  
  
"But _you!_ You and your impossible human magic!!"  
  
A moment of silence passed, and then Roxy couldn't help but snicker at his choice of words.  
  
"I see, I see," Taka spoke up, "You simply came here to humbly remind us of how easy it was to defeat you. There really was no need for that, Tazoka."  
  
" _Shut up!!_ "  
  
Taka smirked.  
  
"That was the day I was meant to charge forward and lead my tribe to greater heights and glorious victories! Instead, because of _you_ , everything was ruined!! It is _ruined_!! I will make you pay for this!"  
  
Roxy gave him a confused look. She was starting to get a little tired holding her paws up and maintaining the Grass Knot, but she figured she could hold on for a while longer. "What are you talking about?" she asked.  
  
He growled once more. "Only a few short moons ago, I was the leader of the unstoppable Earth Tribe! Thanks to you, I am _nothing_ now!"  
  
Roxy gave Taka an intrigued glance, and he returned it. "You mean…?" she said.  
  
"I promised them all an easy victory!" Tazoka grumbled loudly, "It should have _been_ an easy victory! When we left in defeat, however, my tribe no longer valued me as their leader. I took a stand to defend myself in my righteous place, and so they cast me out!"  
  
A gasp escaped Roxy's lips. His whole tribe had cast him out? When she had been fighting to protect Taka and her own tribe, she had never intended for _that_ to happen. She was so surprised by this that she almost ended up apologizing to him.  
  
Instead, Taka let out a quick chortle. "Serves you right," he stated.  
  
Tazoka lashed out angrily at this remark, and Roxy was forced to struggle once again to keep him bound.   
  
"It was you who chose to break our long-standing agreement," Taka continued, "So it is fitting to see you tossed out on your pathetic rump."  
  
Growling, Tazoka shot back. "You have done far more than deposing me! You have utterly ruined the proud reputation of the Earth Tribe! That is a crime I will not allow to stand!"  
  
Taka and Roxy shared confused looks. "What does that mean?" Taka asked him.  
  
"As we speak," Tazoka spoke in a low voice, "the rest of the Earth Tribe is no doubt arriving at your tribe's borders, paws upturned and seeking peace. By this point, they could have already been welcomed in."  
  
Roxy felt her eyes nearly bug out of her head. "The…The Earth Tribe wants to make peace with the Thunder Clan??"  
  
"Truly…?" Taka spoke, equally as shocked.  
  
"I tried to convince them that you, _pet_ , were the only one capable of such trickery, but none of those cowards wanted to take the chance. They all believed that if one could do it, they _all_ could do it."  
  
Now it was time for Roxy to smirk. "Well, that _was_ true when you invaded, but…"  
  
Taka chuckled. "I wonder if Natoka has taught the entire tribe yet. If not, at least more than half…"  
  
For a moment, there was a look of shock and disbelief on Tazoka's face. Then, slowly, it morphed into a look of pure fury. He was starting to look like he wanted to do much more than just kill the two of them.  
  
"Uh, Taka?" Roxy spoke, just loud enough for Taka to hear. When Taka glanced over at her, she hoped he could see the green aura around her paws starting to flicker. She wouldn't be able to hold him down for much longer.  
  
"Right," Taka said decisively and took a step forwards, "While this has been a fascinating discussion, I am afraid we have other things to attend to."  
  
Tazoka glared at him and growled.  
  
Taka walked over to a tree that had some ivy clinging to its trunk and ripped off a few strands. "Stay here for a while and think about what you have done."  
  
Roxy watched as Taka carefully approached the Excadrill, obviously intending to tie him up with the sturdy-looking ivy. She had no doubt he could cut his way out of them, but they would hold him long enough for the two of them to get far away from him.  
  
Once Taka was close enough, though, that's when Tazoka suddenly lashed out. He cleaved through Roxy's grass strands with ease, having been biding his time, and leapt through the air towards Taka with a furious roar. Roxy was left disoriented for a brief moment as her Move was disrupted so suddenly. She refocused her gaze just in time to see Tazoka's claws mere inches from tearing Taka to pieces.  
  
She gasped in horror, but realized a moment later that she should've known better. Taka's boomerang came up at the last fraction of a second to deflect the blow. He then took advantage of Tazoka's continuing momentum to leap over him and make a footstool jump off of his back. Taka landed squarely on the ground behind the furious Excadrill.  
  
Clearly, Taka had expected him to clumsily turn around and go after him. Instead, though, Tazoka set his sights on a new target.  
  
Roxy meeped softly as Tazoka glared at her with murder in his eyes, and she was struck with fear for a moment. A few precious seconds passed by with her simply frozen on the spot. As Tazoka began to move, she quickly reprimanded herself. She had been training for a long time to avoid this exact thing; not to _freeze up_.  
  
She reached for her spear. Wait. Where was her spear? Panic rushed through her as she realized that she must have dropped it when Tazoka had burst out of the ground. Tazoka was on his paws now, looking ready to pounce on her.  
  
What now? She was too drained at the moment to do another Grass Knot. She had trained herself in physical combat quite a bit, but even Taka had told her it would do little good against a Ground- or Rock-Type. A feeling of dread clouded her mind. This was all going to pieces already, and it was the first day.  
  
Thankfully, before Tazoka could pounce, Taka intervened. He did this not with his boomerang, his spear, or his direct combat skills. Instead, he simply threw a rather large rock right at Tazoka's face. This did end up having the desired effect of diverting his attention once more.  
  
As Tazoka went to charge at Taka once more, Roxy forced herself to focus. She didn't know where her spear had ended up, so she was useless in this battle without another Grass Knot. She had to work hard to cast another one as quickly as she could. She knew that Tazoka was already worn out from the previous Grass Knot, and it seemed like Taka had picked up on the fact that Tazoka was letting his anger guide him. He wasn't fighting with as much skill as in the past.  
  
Roxy got a front row seat of this. Taka was easily able to goad Tazoka into striking wildly and furiously, which made his attacks very easy to dodge. Taka skillfully danced about in such a way that Tazoka never ended up looking in her direction, allowing her to avoid the focus while she gathered more energy. There were quite a few close shaves, which made the fur on her back stand straight up each time, but Taka could hold his own. Tazoka was not on the ball.  
  
It was up to her to turn the stalemate into a victory, and so that's just what she did.  
  
Once she guessed that she had enough energy, she lifted her paws causing four thick blades of grass to rise around her. She shouted Tazoka's name and then, even before he had finished turning around, sent the grass whizzing through the air directly towards him. Roxy didn't quite have a plan, so she simply used the grass to grab onto whatever was closest.  
  
This ended up being the blade on Tazoka's head, which she wrapped all four blades of grass around. She grimaced slightly as she realized this wasn't the best target, since the blade would slice through the grass before long. She had to act fast. While Tazoka was still adjusting to what had just happened, she yanked down with the grass _hard_ , pulling his face down towards the ground.  
  
Taka had been standing in front of him, and it was as if he had been psychically reading her mind. Tazoka's head pitched forward for no more than a second before Taka set his hind paws, readied himself and then did a short hop up, swinging the blunt end of his boomerang straight upwards like an uppercut.  
  
The boomerang hit Tazoka in the bottom of his jaw so hard that it sounded like someone had just hit the trunk of a tree with a rock. Roxy immediately winced as she watched Tazoka's head violently snap back up. She had practically _felt_ the impact.  
  
Tazoka didn't even make a sound. He just stood there for a moment, wobbling slightly with his eyes unfocused. Then, as if tipped over by an invisible force, he promptly fell to the ground face-first and ended up lying on his stomach. Though she could still see him breathing, he no longer moved. Taka had knocked him out cold.  
  
Roxy kept the grass attached to him while Taka made absolutely sure the Excadrill was unconscious. When he gave her a nod, she let out a sigh of relief and dispelled the Grass Knot. She then made her way over to where Taka was standing next to their downed foe, still a little wary that he would somehow suddenly jump up and gobble them down whole.  
  
"Thank you," Taka said as she approached.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Tazoka is a practiced fighter," Taka explained, "Even though he was…unhinged and not fighting to his full potential, he was still a dangerous foe. Tazoka _never_ leaves any of his weak spots vulnerable. Your grass was what changed that and allowed me to knock him out."  
  
Roxy gave Tazoka a glance. She could see drool leaking out the side of his mouth. She was no expert, but it certainly looked like his lights had been completely knocked out.  
  
A moment later it sank in. That had really just happened. That had _actually_ really just happened. She'd gotten into a fight with a dangerous opponent, even though it wasn't a predator, and she had won. Taka had done most of the work of course, but she had done more than cower on the sidelines. Taka had just said so; she had helped him deliver the final blow. She had helped them win.  
  
"I…can't believe we did that…" she murmured.  
  
Taka gave her a good-natured raise of his eyebrow. "You are surprised?"  
  
She glanced back over to him. "By you, no. By me??"  
  
Taka smirked and shook his head. "You will do just fine out here…"  
  
Not too long ago, that would have been an absolutely ludicrous statement to her. Now, though, having successfully fought against a raving Excadrill, while managing to keep her cool and focusing on the offense, it didn't sound so crazy. A loopy little smile appeared on her face.  
  
Then, she gazed down at the unconscious Tazoka once more and a troubled look appeared on her face. "What do we do with him?" she wondered aloud, "I mean…It's so great to hear that the Earth Tribe is coming to make peace with the Thunder Clan. That's like a big load off of my mind. Now I feel like I don't have to worry so much about the friends I'm leaving behind…"  
  
She saw Taka nod wordlessly in her peripheral vision.  
  
"Him, I'm not so sure about…" she continued, "I mean…I guess if he's all by himself, then our tribe will be able to fend him off if he tries something…right? We could tie him up before we leave, but that wouldn't do a whole lot…"  
  
"The smart thing to do is to kill him."  
  
Roxy shot Taka a shocked look so hard that her neck hurt from turning her head so quickly. "What??" she blurted out.  
  
Taka glanced at her with a neutral expression. "He is trouble. If he lives, he will kill. Obviously he is less of a threat to our tribe now, but he is still a threat. The smart thing to do is elimina-"  
  
"No, no, no," Roxy interrupted him, "What are you…?" Her voice trailed off. She had been about to call him 'insane', but her brain remembered a moment later that Taka was not like her. She had been told plenty of times that death was common in the forest. Life was fleeting out here, and the lives of outsiders were not quite as precious to uphold. There wasn't any sadistic meaning behind Taka's words, that was just the way he had been raised. She needed to remind herself of that.  
  
Still, though…  
  
"No," she shook her head adamantly, "No. Don't."  
  
"Rox-"  
  
"I know, Taka," she interjected, "I know that sometimes we… _both_ of us…might be forced to kill something out here in order to survive." She stifled a shiver. "But…not like this. You already beat him. He's unconscious and defenseless. He wouldn't even know that he'd taken his last breath."  
  
Taka stared at her with a stony expression.  
  
Roxy frowned at him, silently pleading for him not to go through with the grisly act. "Please…?" she said softly, "It just…feels so wrong…" Roxy knew she was probably giving Taka puppy eyes, but that wasn't exactly intentional on her part.  
  
For a few tense minutes, Taka just stared at her with his forelimbs crossed. Roxy wasn't sure if he was considering her request, or just waiting for her to break under the pressure and relent. When he finally broke the silence, it was with a resigned sigh and a shake of his head. "Avert your eyes," he said.  
  
Roxy's heart skipped a beat. "Wh-what?! But Taka-!"  
  
"I'm _not_ going to kill him."  
  
It took a moment for Roxy's stomach to climb back up to its proper spot. "…Oh."  
  
"But still; avert your eyes. There is something that must be done."  
  
Roxy worriedly glanced between him and the downed Excadrill. At first she was curious, then she was confused, and then she got concerned. "What are-"  
  
" _Now!_ "  
  
She was so startled by his sudden outburst that she reflexively followed his orders and turned around. For good measure, she brought her forepaws up to cover her eyes. She stood there for a moment in confused silence. When a few seconds passed with nothing happening, Roxy began to get really worried. She wondered if Taka had just lied to her so she wouldn't be looking when he killed Tazoka anyway. She tried to shake those thoughts away. She and Taka were a team now, and she had to trust him. That meant trusting his judgement as well.  
  
A sickening _crunch_ filled the air.  
  
Roxy was once again startled, letting out a sudden yelp of surprise. On instinct, she quickly turned around to see what had made the awful noise. She immediately wished she hadn't.  
  
Tazoka was still laying there, just the same as before and still breathing just fine. The difference was that the tip of his muzzle was now bent to the side at an angle that made her sick just from looking at it. That was _not_ supposed to be like that.  
  
"Taka, what did you…?" she whimpered quietly.  
  
"I broke his nose," he said matter-of-factly.  
  
Roxy tore her eyes away from the nauseating sight to give Taka a look that was part confusion, part anger, and part 'please explain before I barf'.  
  
Taka looked like he was surprised he even had to explain it. "…So he cannot follow us?"  
  
She blinked once, the gears in her head slowly turning until she realized what he meant. "Oh…So he can't track our scent…"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Roxy glanced one more time at Tazoka's muzzle and then quickly averted her eyes as a jolt ran up her spine. It was a comparatively minor injury, but it still made her stomach turn. "I see…" she uttered simply.  
  
"That was…not the most auspicious start to our journey…" Taka commented.  
  
"No kidding…"  
  
"Well!" Taka dusted off his forepaws. "Come, we shall continue."  
  
Roxy gave him a concerned look. "Wait! I-"  
  
Taka arched an eyebrow at her, and she fell silent. There was a strong part of her that didn't want to leave yet, but she couldn't figure out why. There was no reason to stick around and not continue, especially considering the distance they still had to travel. She wasn't hurt, and neither was Taka.   
  
"What?" Taka asked impatiently.  
  
"Nothing…" she replied, shaking off that feeling, "Nothing. Let's go."  
  
Then, just like that, they were off again. The two started running through the forest as if nothing had even happened in the first place. The first time Roxy glanced over her shoulder, less than a minute into their run, she had already lost sight of the Excadrill among the trees.  
  
She took a moment to reflect on the battle. It had gone relatively well, and Roxy had been able to focus and not panic just like she had trained to do. On the other paw, she had been facing an opponent that she had a clear advantage over. Her Grass Knot wouldn't do a whole lot if they came across something like an Arcanine.  
  
She decided to stop her train of thought and just take inventory of her mind. Was she worried? No, not as much anymore. She had seen how well Taka could fight and defend her if need be, and nothing very bad had happened during that battle.   
  
It was a bit of a strange moment when she realized that she could just run. Her head had been filled with so many worries over the past couple of months, but now she could just run with her head fairly clear. Sure, she was still a tad concerned, and she knew very well the dangers that they _could_ face. At the moment, though, when nothing was happening, she could feel calm. Minutes and minutes went by without a distressing thought passing through her brain.  
  
After half an hour of running, she realized the impossible had happened. She had gotten _bored_.  
  
That simple fact fascinated her. The jitters and excitement over actually commencing her trip home had been completely overshadowed by their encounter with Tazoka. After fighting him, she had just been happy to get away from him. Now she was on the move, already almost an hour's time away from the place she had called a safe home.   
  
_You've really come a long, long way, haven't you_? she said to herself.  
  
She found herself briefly glancing over her shoulder once more. The village was gone now. She wouldn't even be able to see it if she climbed above the trees. She would always remember it and all of the Pokémon there, but looking back like this tugged at her heartstrings. She wished that there was some impossible way that she could stay in contact with them.  
  
Now she was on the road, though, so to speak. The journey she had dreamed about since day one in the forest had started. Perhaps the reason why her head was so clear was that she was focused on the goal. It was finally beginning to draw closer to her. Imagining her master's smiling face made her want to run twice as fast.  
  
Roxy silently hoped she wasn't letting her guard down too much.  
  
"So, uh…" Roxy spoke, loud enough for Taka to hear. She was still kind of bored, and figured the two of them could talk about something. "That's reassuring to hear about the Earth Tribe and the Thunder Clan, huh?"  
  
Taka continued to silently move ahead, and at first it seemed as if he wasn't in the mood for conversation. A couple of minutes later, however, he did reply. "It is…comforting."  
  
She smiled a little. "I hope everything goes well."  
  
"Even if it does not," Taka said, "Natoka knows your power now. I know he will do his best to spread this technique to the others."  
  
"I still can't believe I managed to teach him that. That goes against all published Pokémon knowledge."  
  
A moment of silence passed, and Roxy glanced around. The tree cover was just as thick here, even amidst the gentle rolling of the terrain. The Thunder Clan village must have been built in a flat valley, because now they were surrounded by hills. Nothing came close to being called 'steep', and the dense collection of trees didn't mind in the least.  
  
"If you were wondering," Taka said, breaking the silence, "I did not detect his approach because he was underground."  
  
"Huh?" Roxy tilted her head for a second, but then realized what he was saying. "Oh. Really?"  
  
She saw Taka nod. "And Excadrill can dig almost silently. It will not happen again."  
  
Roxy blinked and stared at the back of Taka's head for a moment. A smile began to tug at the edge of her lips. Had she just heard Taka trying to justify himself? "All right, it better not," she replied playfully.  
  
After another pause, Roxy asked another question. "Do you think we'll meet…a lot of opposition?"  
  
"We will hardly be stopping, unless we come across berries. Predators prey on Pokémon who sit still, as they are much easier to sneak up on. A predator may foolishly try to ambush us or cut us off, but in general most of them will wave us off and prefer to look for food that is not running so quickly."  
  
"Okay…" She thought about this, and it did make sense. There was still a nagging feeling at the back of her mind telling her that she should be more worried than she was. She tried to imagine the two of them encountering something dangerous, but her mind kept morphing it into the fight with Tazoka that they had won. "How much, uh…'trouble' did you get into last time?"  
  
Taka shook his head. "I may have been running away, but I had no purpose. I stopped to smell the roses far too often…"  
  
"Ohh…" She smiled softly. It was good to hear that Taka was focused on their goal one hundred percent. He wanted to get to the forest's edge just as much as she did. "Is that how you ended up meeting…"  
  
Roxy tailed off, immediately recognizing that she'd made a mistake. She mentally kicked herself for so casually going to such a place in their conversation. She bit her lip and glanced ahead at Taka. He wasn't saying anything, but she could see that his head had dipped down just a touch and the fur on his back was bristled a little.  
  
"Taka, I'm sorry. I said that without thinking."  
  
He gave her more of the silent treatment and just kept running ahead. He even picked up the pace a little, forcing Roxy to focus on making sure she could keep up with him.  
  
Roxy sighed and pouted at herself. _Great going,_ she chided herself, _That's, like, the most Taka has ever engaged in 'friendly conversation' and you blow it._ She shook her head at her own stupidity, wondering what had even prompted her to bring up his dearly departed mate. That was a sore subject.  
  
Then, all at once, it was as if she had run straight into a dark cloud. Roxy thought about if the roles had been reversed, and now suddenly found that all she could think about was Makari. A heavy gloom overcame her and she started to really feel the absence of the one she had fallen in love with. While she did miss Makari every day, she hadn't felt as bad as this in months. The thought that Makari couldn't be there, walking in step beside her as he led her home, stung her heart a little.  
  
It was as if a pessimistic switch in her brain had been flipped, because then she started thinking about all of the friends she had left behind. The irrational guilt over how she had bid them farewell returned, and it started to really weigh on her just how sad it felt to leave them all behind for the rest of her life. A part of her really did want to go back and see them all again, and she knew that if she let that feeling take control, then she was going to turn around.  
  
That scared her.  
  
It was like a more benign version of Striaton Syndrome, where one develops a close connection with one's captors. The Thunder Clan hadn't explicitly captured her, but she was still trapped there and the feeling was close enough. No matter how wonderful and nice they had been, all she had wanted to do was get away from them so she could go home.  
  
Roxy wanted to literally slap herself for even thinking once about turning back.   
  
The pessimistic train of thought had started, though, and she couldn't seem to get off of it. Worries began to crop up about what she was doing. She worried about how long the journey would take, if they would be able to find enough food and water, and if she would have the strength to run all the way there day after day. She was nervous that Taka would end up getting lost somehow. What if she got really sick with something along the way?  
  
" _Stop!_ " Taka hissed under his breath.  
  
Roxy blinked and stopped, only just noticing that Taka had stopped as well and she had nearly run right into him. She opened her mouth to ask why, but closed it when she saw the concerned look on his face. They were at the top of a small hill, looking into a shallow dip in the landscape before them. He was staring directly down at something, but she couldn't see what it was. It didn't look like anything was there.  
  
She flinched when Taka poked her in the side with his boomerang. She gave him an irritated look, but he simply used his boomerang to point to a nearby tree. More specifically, he was pointing to the top of it. Roxy glanced at the tree, but didn't see anything particularly interesting about it.  
  
The pieces finally fell into place once he started impatiently making a 'go!' motion with his boomerang, and she realized that he wanted her to _climb_ the tree. She still didn't know what was going on, but she remembered the rules they had agreed on. She had to trust him and follow his instructions, as there was bound to be a reason for them.  
  
Roxy carefully made her way over to the tree, surmising that now was the time to keep quiet, and swiftly climbed up to the lowest branch that was sturdy enough to hold her weight. Not a split second later, Taka was beside her. She hadn't even heard him following her.  
  
"What? What is it?" Roxy whispered.  
  
Taka responded by pointing with his boomerang once more. She squinted in the direction he indicated, hoping that their new vantage point would allow her to see whatever it was he could see.  
  
Her blood ran cold when she finally saw it. Behind a few bushes, not far from where they had just been standing, was a massive Ursaring. It was hunched forward, eating berries off of the bush, and looked like it hadn't noticed them. If she had kept running, though, she would have pretty much run right into its jaws.  
  
She gulped and stifled a shiver. "…Oh."  
  
Taka held his paw up in front of her, indicating his intention for them to stay still and wait until it left. Roxy had no trouble at all following that order.  
  
She stared down at the massive predator for a while. She didn't even dare blink, for fear that the brief moment where her eyes would be closed would be enough for it to somehow jump up and eat her. It was a huge Ursaring, slightly larger than their average height as she remembered from the encyclopedia. It must have been Arceus' grace that it hadn't seen them.  
  
It had been Arceus' grace that Taka _had_ seen it.  
  
As they sat there, unmoving and waiting for it to leave, Roxy thought back to all of the previous predators she had encountered. The Aggron, Kazaka the Zangoose, the Mightyena, the Houndoom, even the Weavile from her dream. Each one had been a terrifying experience, and each one still filled her with terror as she remembered them. Angry predators had been the first thing she had encountered in this damned forest, and that deep-seeded fear had remained within her.  
  
Roxy realized how scared she was.  
  
She hadn't been afraid of Tazoka, or at least not as much as this, because she had already faced him and defeated him before. What's more, Tazoka was not a predator. Roxy had been terrified of every predator she had encountered, and she just realized that fear had not gone away. It had just been hiding. She had trained a lot and gotten much braver, but this was still something that truly terrified her.  
  
 _Now_ , she was finally flooded with all of the fears and worries that had been absent on the first short leg of her journey. She had been reminded of that fear of predators that had been laying somewhat dormant, and now it felt like she wouldn't be able to shake it. It felt like every single ounce of confidence had just vanished altogether.  
  
Suddenly, she realized just what she had gotten herself into.


	26. Old Friends, New Ideas

_I'm on my way home…  
  
It still feels, in a way, impossible to accept as the truth. Ever since first waking up in this forest, it had felt like my old life was something that was just gone forever. Oh sure I always had hope, but nothing ever seemed to take me a step towards actually going home. That village had been my prison, no matter how nice the 'jailors' had been.  
  
Then, one thing led to another, and itself to yet another thing, and now Taka was leading me home. It didn't feel real when we first left the village. Now, about a week later, it still doesn't feel real.  
  
A whole week of nothing but running through this seemingly endless forest. Since day one, it has been basically hammered into my brain that this forest is chock full of danger. We have left behind the territory of the Thunder Clan. Then, we left behind the territory of those that directly neighboured the Thunder Clan. Finally, only a few days ago, Taka had informed me that we had stepped past the boundaries of all tribes explicitly known to the Thunder Clan. If I were to ask him now where we were, he would not be able to tell me. I am here now, still living and breathing, but I dare not take that for granted.  
  
In one way, the journey so far has been incredibly dull. To explain it on paper would take only half a sheet. Every day we wake up, eat a single berry, figure out which direction is north, and then run. We usually run on our hind legs. It is slightly slower than running on all fours, but it is worth it to always have our weapons at the ready. I run only about a single body length behind Taka, and follow him like a shadow. He is the one leading the expedition; he is in charge.   
  
So far, we have not had any confrontation with anyone. We have encountered a fair share of other Pokémon, which almost always turn out to be either a predator or just very dangerous-looking, but we always manage to avoid detection. There were a few close calls when we were sure a Mightyena nearby had picked up our scent, but we have so far been able to manage avoiding fights altogether. Even Taka has commented that this is fortuitous.   
  
We end up covering as much ground as we can, the landscape hardly changing at all, and then find a sturdy tree to sleep in. I sleep for the first four hours of the night, then Taka wakes me and I keep watch while he sleeps the other four. Admittedly, getting only four hours of sleep each night has gotten pretty exhausting, but I can feel myself learning to adapt. As long as I have enough wakefulness to stay alert.  
  
The flip side of the coin, though, is that this journey has been anything but dull so far. I constantly have to lasso my own fears so that I can focus and remain alert. The fear of being surrounded by predators is always there. Taka says this is a good thing in moderation, as it keeps me alert. Whenever I feel myself start to panic too much, I force myself to remember how well I had reacted when Adi had attacked me disguised as a shadowy creature. I knew the moves, or at least enough moves to get by, and I had Taka by my side. There was certainly lots to worry about, but definitely nothing to _panic _about.  
  
It was off-putting at first, living life without the rest of the Thunder Clan around me. There have been a couple of times where some thought enters my mind and makes me chuckle, and I will think that some Thunder Clan member will find it interesting. I then feel disappointed when I remember they aren't around me anymore, and probably never will be again. That had been a life that I had wanted to leave behind, so I could go home, yet it feels like I have been displaced. For better or worse, I had really gotten used to living in the village. It was hard to adjust to a whole new modus operandi.   
  
At the end of every day, though, I looked back and thought about how many days we had traveled so far. Every day, the number went higher. It was silly, but seeing that number climb felt encouraging. I still can't believe a whole week of traveling has happened already. It feels like a blur. I wonder how close I am to home, or at least to the forest's edge?_  
  
"Roxy! Are you listening?!"  
  
The distracted Pikachu snapped to attention suddenly, turning her gaze over to Taka. She closed her mental journal and stashed it away realizing that she had been daydreaming. "Yeah," she lied.  
  
Taka gave her a flat look. "You were off in another world. I will not bore you with the details of what horrible consequences that could have held for you, because I _know_ that you already know them."  
  
Roxy deflated a little. "Sorry…" she muttered half-apologetically, "I was just reflecting."  
  
"Reflect another time," he barked, "We _just_ had to sneak away from a huge Arcanine."  
  
A tiny shiver ran up her spine upon the mention of that particular event. "His whole head was bigger than me…"  
  
Taka rolled his eyes. He then indicated for her to follow, and set off at a relaxed pace. Roxy fell into step beside him. "I need to get my bearings," he informed her, "Help me find a tall enough tree."  
  
Roxy nodded and began to scan the nearby treetops. "How much longer until-?" She cut herself off. She could just _feel_ Taka's irritated glare. "I mean," she corrected, "About how much time do you _think_ it will take us?"  
  
Taka was silent for a moment. "On the one paw," he finally replied, "We have been making good time each day without stopping for very much."  
  
Roxy felt a bit of pride swell in her chest. The Roxy of half a year ago would have collapsed panting and exhausted after only an hour of running.  
  
"However," Taka continued, "You are a lot slower than I am."  
  
Just like that, her smile vanished. She understood what he meant by that without him having to say it. She was holding him back. He was being forced to curtail his top speed so she wouldn't be left behind. The implication was that, if she wasn't there, he would get to the forest's edge a lot faster.  
  
She found herself pouting. That wasn't exactly something fair to get upset about. Then again, could she really deny it? She thought about it for a moment, then sighed softly as she realized it was the truth. Not only was Taka faster than her when it came to running, but so was everybody else in the Thunder Clan.  
  
Yet again, Roxy found herself thinking back to the village she had left behind. She knew in her heart that as soon as she got home, she would have to paint a picture or something to remember them forever. She knew her master had some Pokémon-friendly paint somewhere in the house, though the last time she had used them she had been making a mess as a baby Pichu. That reminded her; she needed to burn those photographs.  
  
" _Roxy!!_ "  
  
Startled, and nearly jumping right out of her fur, Roxy gave Taka an incensed look. "What??"  
  
"You were daydreaming again!" he said, coming to a stop so he could face her with his forepaws on his hips.  
  
"I was not," she replied indignantly, also stopping to face him.  
  
"This is not a stroll through one of your human city's parks, you know! We are most likely in an enemy's territory! Other tribes do not take kindly to trespassers, even if they are a tribe of prey!! This is no time to get your head lost in the clouds!"  
  
Roxy kept up her pouty expression for a few more seconds, but then sighed in defeat. "You're right," she admitted, "I'm sorry." Taka may have been irritating, but he was still the boss and he was the one almost entirely responsible for making sure she didn't die. It was unfortunate that the two seemed to be getting on one another's nerves today, for some reason.  
  
"Don't apologize to _me_!" he shot back, "Your short attention span is not going to bring me any harm. When you come crying to me about the fact that a Seviper bit your foreleg off while you were not looking, do not expect my sympathy."  
  
Roxy wasn't listening. She had started out listening, but something had caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She focused on it as Taka continued to prattle on, and saw that there seemed to be a rather thick vine hanging directly behind Taka's head. Then, her eyes opened as wide as dinner plates as the vine _moved_ by itself, sliding lower towards the ground.  
  
"I will tell you again," Taka continued, "You need to act as if you are surrounded by danger all the time, even when you think you are not! If you let something sneak up on you, then you will be _dead_!"  
  
"Uhh…Taka?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
She started to lift her paw to point at the strange vine, and he started to turn his head back as she did. No more than a single millisecond later, the vine suddenly darted towards Taka's back. Before either of them could even react, it wrapped itself securely around both Taka's boomerang and his spear. All he could do was yelp in surprise as they were yanked clean off of his back.  
  
Roxy tried to react, either to reach out and grab them before they were pulled out of reach, or to look and see where the vine was coming from. She ended up being distracted from doing either, because she felt her own spear get yanked away from her in the same way. "Hey!"  
  
Now that they were both unarmed, Taka and Roxy both tensed up and got ready for a confrontation. Taka's eyes swept their surroundings, while Roxy's went straight up to the tree branch that was right above them. She couldn't see anything up there. Soon, Taka was following her gaze, but he couldn't see anything either.  
  
As if on cue, they both brought their heads back down and gave each other a puzzled look. "Uhh…" Roxy ventured, "What was…?"  
  
"Ssh…"  
  
Roxy felt the familiar rush of both adrenaline and anxiety. She didn't believe in things like phantoms or spectres, so this had to be some kind of Pokémon doing it. Was it a Grass-Type, or maybe a Ghost-Type that had turned invisible? In this case, her anxiety started to outweigh her focus, primarily because she was unarmed. She had, of course, trained to fight without a weapon, but she was considerably more adept _with_ one.  
  
Taka stood still, his eyes slowly roaming their surroundings. Roxy thought he looked like a coiled up spring, ready to bounce as soon as their assailant showed themselves. She followed his gaze to the right, but still didn't see anything.  
  
When she turned to look back at him, the vine had suddenly reappeared. Before she could even say anything, it tapped Taka on the shoulder and then darted back up into the tree before Taka could react in time. He span around on his paws, but obviously there was no-one behind him.  
  
Roxy yelped as something tugged on her tail. She too turned around, but she didn't even get to see the vine.  
  
"Taka…?" she said in a slightly quavering voice, "What do we do? Stay, or run?"  
  
"Show yourself," Taka commanded in an unnervingly calm voice.  
  
Roxy was really starting to get freaked out. She still didn't believe in supernatural things, but she had perhaps watched one too many horror movies on TV with her master. It was a challenge to focus her mind and skills on fighting an opponent that was actively fighting back. What could she do against a trickster like this?  
  
Taka growled, obviously annoyed at being toyed with, and slowly turned around. That brief moment of distraction was all it took. The vine seized its opportunity by darting back down and coiling itself around Taka's midsection. He let out a surprised gasp, and then a distressed shout as the vine suddenly lifted him up into the air.  
  
"Taka!" Roxy cried out in concern, reaching her paw out towards him in a futile effort to grab his onto his.  
  
Taka gripped the vine with his forepaw and tried to rip them off, but they held strong. Once he started to struggle, the vine promptly flipped him around so that he was hanging upside down. His satchel dangled precariously in the air below him, but still too high for Roxy to reach. She began to panic. What was she supposed to do now?!  
  
Once Taka's cheeks started to spark with electricity, that's when they both finally heard the voice of their aggressor. To their surprise, this came in the form of a derisive laugh. Taka froze, his eyes wide open, and the electricity died on his cheeks.  
  
"How many times now?" the mysterious voice asked, "Three? Four?"  
  
Roxy gazed around in confusion, and then looked at Taka. He furrowed his brow and hung there in silence for a moment, then let out a distinctly aggravated groan. "Of course," he grumbled, "I should have known."  
  
"What a pleasure to see you again, Taka," the voice replied, "It is always a thrill seeing your helpless upside-down expression."  
  
"Let me down or you get zapped."  
  
After one last chuckle, the vine around Taka suddenly retracted and left him to the mercy of gravity. Taka easily flipped himself over in midair and landed squarely on his hindpaws. Then, a moment later, the perpetrator swiftly jumped down from the branch above and landed with equal grace.  
  
It was a Snivy. That was it, just a small Snivy who was only a couple of inches shorter than she was. He bore the now-familiar marks on his body, though his were a dulled red colour and there weren't many of them. He wore a necklace of stones and had a pouch slung over his shoulder resting against his back.  
  
Taka glared at the Snivy, who stared right back at him unflinchingly. After a few tense moments of not knowing what was going to happen next, Roxy was surprised to see a little smirk on Taka's lips. Then, the two of them stepped closer to one another and shook each other's paw.  
  
"Aro," Taka spoke, "What an unexpected surprise."  
  
"Likewise," the Snivy replied, "I was sure I had seen the last of you." He wore a smirk on his on face that was eerily similar to Taka's own.  
  
"One could only hope to be so lucky…" Taka mused.  
  
"I see you still hold yourself in high regard." The Snivy smiled to himself and shook his head. "It is good to see you, though. To what do I owe this unforeseen surprise?" He then glanced over in Roxy's direction, making her jump a little in surprise. "I must say…It was unexpected to be able to see you once more, but even more so to see you with a companion."  
  
Taka glanced over at her as well, and she frowned. She had no idea how to react to this. She still wasn't even sure what was going on. It felt a little indignant to her, as if they had both suddenly realized she was still there. "Uhh…Context?" she said.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Taka held out his paw in her direction. "This is Roxy. She is…Well, it is a long story." Then he looked at her and indicated the Snivy. "Roxy, this is Aro. He is a friend of mine."  
  
Aro gave her a friendly wave. "I believe this belongs to you," he said.  
  
At first Roxy was confused, but then she yelped when her spear suddenly appeared floating in front of her face. It took her a moment to realize that it was attached to Aro's vine still.  
  
Taka sighed. "Although at times, he likes to test the limits of the word 'friend'…"  
  
Roxy took her weapon back, and watched as Aro also returned Taka's two weapons. Taka was giving him a disapproving gaze as he did so.  
  
"Anyway…" he mumbled as he sheathed his weapons, "I encountered Aro's tribe on my first journey," he explained, "His was the first welcoming tribe I had found. They provided me with food and a place to rest."  
  
"Oh," Roxy said as she started to feel more at ease. Now that she knew the Snivy was a friend, she was happy to step closer to the two of them and reach out her own paw. "Well, hello then. It's nice to meet a friend of Taka's."  
  
Aro shook her paw, and then gave Taka a look with an arched eyebrow. "Nothing is ever simple with you, is it?" he asked with a sort of teasing tone.  
  
"I told you," he replied, "It is a long story."  
  
Chuckling, Aro continued. "I would have thought you would be on the other side of the world by now. Were you not headed for the forest's edge last I saw you?"  
  
Taka grimaced, and Roxy frowned sympathetically. "That…is also a long story," was all he said.  
  
Aro shrugged. "Fair enough, I suppose. Well, in any case, I assume you are planning on just passing through. I can take you back to the patch with me. I am sure there are others in the Gaia Tribe who would like to see you again."  
  
"I suppose that would be agreeable," Taka said with a nod, "We could use a good night's rest."  
  
Aro smiled, though he still had that little touch of haughtiness that Roxy often saw in Taka's expressions. He then turned to regard her. "And _you_! I must hear your story. I am fascinated just seeing you!"  
  
Roxy chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah, sure. If you want. I'm not anything special, though…"  
  
Aro arched an eyebrow. "You wear the clothing of humans, and the marks of the Thunder Clan. Your story is anything but dull, I am sure. Come!" With that, he turned on the spot and gestured for the two of them to follow, and then set off running at a rather surprising pace considering his size.  
  
"'The patch'?" Roxy asked, turning to Taka with a quizzical look.  
  
"Yes," he replied, "As in 'grass patch'. It is where the Gaia Tribe lives. His tribe."  
  
"Oh. Is that the name of their village or something?"  
  
Taka actually turned and gave her a wry sort of grin. "As far as I know, the Thunder Clan is the only tribe with a village."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
They both turned their heads up at Aro's shout, seeing that they had already nearly lost him in the trees. With a nod to one another, they took off running after him.  
  
"This is cool," Roxy commented as she ran beside the other Pikachu, "The Gaia Tribe, huh? And you said they're friendly?" Roxy grinned, imagining a tribe of wild Grass-Type Pokémon all living together.  
  
"Their general mindset is they do not attack others if others do not attack them."  
  
"Oh, I see," she said with a nod, "Who's their leader? Like, a big Torterra?" She began imagining that as well, trying to remember just how large Torterra could get.  
  
Taka gave her a look and shook his head. "He is," he said, gesturing forward with his paw.  
  
Roxy arched her eyebrow at him, looked forward at the Snivy in front of them, and then back to Taka. "What? You mean Aro?"  
  
"Yes. Aro."  
  
Her brain became muddled with confusion. "Are- Really? How can he…?" Now she was looking at him like he was playing a joke on her. "He's the leader?" she asked in a voice not loud enough for the Snivy to hear, "…Of the whole tribe? He's a Snivy, Taka! He's just a cub!"  
  
Taka actually stopped running. Roxy was forced to slam on the brakes and backtrack to where he was standing. "…What?" she asked him.  
  
Taka was giving her a disapproving gaze. "Roxy, Aro is older than both of us."  
  
"He-!" Roxy blanked for a moment. "…He is? Whaddya mean he's older than us?"  
  
"What other way is there to say it? He has spent more years on this planet than you or I. I believe he is about as old as the wise ones."  
  
Roxy blinked multiple times, trying to process this bizarre statement. No matter how many times she fed it through her brain, she kept getting an error. She looked back in the direction of Aro once more, and then back at Taka.  
  
"I don't get it," she said, "If he's that old…why is he a Snivy? Wouldn't he have evolved? Especially considering where he lives…"  
  
"Well-"  
  
"Hey! Hurry up!"  
  
The two glanced up to see that they had nearly lost sight of Aro in the woods once again. "I will explain later," Taka said before dashing off, leaving Roxy with no choice but to follow him.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
After only about ten minutes of travel, Aro announced that they had reached their destination.   
  
"Ro'a!!" Aro called out, "I return with guests!"  
  
No-one seemed to answer, so Roxy gave the Snivy a confused look. "What's 'Ro'a'? Is that someone's name?"  
  
Aro gave her a sly look. "It is the syllables of my name, backwards," he explained, "It is a secret callsign, so we know if friend or foe approaches." He smiled proudly, as if he had come up with it himself, which could very well have been the case. "Our enemies hear us shout something different every time one of us comes back, so they cannot figure it out."  
  
"Oh," Roxy said, nodding in understanding, "So if Taka lived here, he would say 'Kata'?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
The group only took a few more steps forward before something massive suddenly towered over them, casting a shadow across all three. Roxy flinched and froze, her paw halfway to her spear, but relaxed a little when she looked up.  
  
It was a Serperior. A _huge_ Serperior. She could tell it was friendly, though, because it shared the same markings as Aro. Still, though, that didn't take away from the fact that it was massive and quite intimidating. Unlike Snivy, whom she had seen as pets and as part of teams back in Kanto, Roxy had never encountered a Serperior in the flesh before.  
  
The Serperior briefly acknowledged Aro, before turning a scrutinizing eye across the two Pikachu. It paused for a moment once it got a good look at Taka.  
  
"What a surprise…" it spoke in a deep, male voice.  
  
"Kamazo," Taka greeted him, "Good to see you again."  
  
Aro stepped forward, forced to crane his neck back quite a bit to look up at the much larger Pokémon. "I would wager," he spoke, "that you did not think we would see Taka again, did you little brother?"  
  
Kamazo said something else, but Roxy didn't hear it. Her brain was busy fizzling out. ' _Little_ brother'?!  
  
"…and this is Roxy," Taka was saying, "She is my traveling companion."  
  
Kamazo nodded in acceptance, and a smile finally graced his lips. "Very good," he spoke, "The Gaia Tribe welcomes you both." Then, he slithered off to the side, prompting Aro to start leading them forward again.  
  
"Kamazo is the head of our defenses," Aro said, "Even vicious Zangoose tremble in fear when they see him."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding…" Roxy murmured as she glanced over her shoulder. She didn't even want to imagine getting into a fight with something as large as that.  
  
"Is that Taka…?"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up upon hearing a new voice, and turned her head to see who it was. Instead, her eyes widened at what she saw.  
  
There was an open glade sitting in the trees, letting the unfiltered sunshine beam down like a sunroof in a vehicle. It was filled with all manner of Grass-Type Pokémon. Aside from many other Snivy, Servine and Serperior, Roxy saw a lot of Pansage and Simisage, Treecko and Grovyle, Shroomish and Breloom, Nuzleaf and Shiftry, and a single Leafeon.   
  
Most of them were sitting in clusters off to the side of the glade, around what Roxy assumed to be nests. True to what Taka had said, this was much closer to what she pictured when it came to wild Pokémon. There was no village here, just a tribe.  
  
A small group of Pokémon immediately came forward to greet Taka. They all reacted in the same way as Aro, with each one expressing surprise at seeing him again. Once Taka had finished greeting all of his old acquaintances, the attention suddenly turned on her.  
  
Roxy mentally flinched as a brief spike of social anxiety overcame her. "Uh, hi," she said, lamely waving her paw.  
  
A few of them murmured quietly to one another. "She is with you?" a Simisage spoke up, addressing Taka.  
  
"She is," he answered with a nod, "You can trust her. She is of no threat to any of you."  
  
That seemed to visibly relax the group, though Roxy wondered why. It wasn't as if she projected an image of intimidation.   
  
"Well then! Welcome to the patch, and welcome to the Gaia Tribe," said a Breloom, stepping forward to shake her paw, "It seems as though you two have been traveling for a while."  
  
"Yeah, we have," Roxy replied.  
  
"Come, and sit beneath a tree," the Breloom said with a gesture towards the open patch of grass, "Would you like some fruit?"  
  
Roxy found herself suddenly ushered forward by the group, with Taka next to her. "Ah," she muttered in surprise, "Fruit?"  
  
"We have plenty to share. The forest here is bountiful."  
  
"I, uh…Well, I don't want to trouble you or-" Roxy stopped herself in mid-sentence as a thought occurred to her. She turned back to the Breloom and gave him a hopeful look. "Do you have…Leppa Berries?"  
  
Five minutes later, Roxy, Taka and Aro were sitting under a tree next to the small glade, surrounded by a small pile of fresh berries. Roxy, in particular, had four Leppa Berries carefully cradled in her lap while she happily munched on a fifth one.  
  
Taka was watching her with a neutral expression, and then rolled his eyes. "I will never understand why you like those so much…"  
  
"Whah? Y'don' like L'pas?" she replied with her mouth full. It briefly registered in her mind that, apparently, the wild forest had sapped away her table manners. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to learn them again when she got home.  
  
"Give me a Pomeg Berry any day…"  
  
She shot him a look. "Ewwwww!!" she quite loudly proclaimed, "Aw, yuck! Pomegs are _gross_!!"  
  
Aro laughed at their little back and forth. "Ah, Taka…You continue to surprise me."  
  
Taka arched an eyebrow at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, perhaps you should tell me these 'long' stories," he replied cheekily, "because otherwise I am left to fill in the gaps, and the only things I can come up with are…strange…to say the least."  
  
Roxy swallowed her last bite of the first Leppa. "I can do it if you want, Taka."  
  
He shrugged. "Be my guest…"  
  
Roxy then went on to explain her whole story to Aro, pausing at times to take a bite of a Leppa. She explained where she came from and that she was a pet, how she found herself in the forest, how the Thunder Clan had taken her in, and what had happened during her stay at the village. Though, she left out the more personal details, specifically about her tumultuous love life.  
  
About halfway through her story, she noticed that other members of the tribe were listening in. No-one intruded on their bubble of personal space, but they were out in the open so their conversation was not exactly private. Roxy didn't mind.  
  
Aro listened intently to the story and didn't ask many questions. When she finally finished by explaining what she and Taka were doing now, he nodded in understanding. "My, my…" he said, "Your story has certainly had quite a few chapters, young one. Even from your words alone, I feel I must congratulate you on your bravery.  
  
Roxy blushed a little from the praise. "Heh…Thanks."  
  
"So, you two are headed for…pretty much the same destination as Taka was going last time."  
  
"Yeah," she said with a nod, "If I can just get back to the human world, no matter where it is, I'm confident I can find my way home."  
  
Aro turned to Taka. "But, what happened to you? Did you not reach your destination? Or did you circle back for some reason?"  
  
Roxy also glanced over at Taka, and saw his fur bristle at the question. She mentally grimaced, knowing what the answer was and how upsetting it was to Taka. The other Pikachu's lips were closed tightly and he was glancing away, looking as if he was going to remain silent instead of answering.  
  
She decided to jump in before Aro could press him. "He decided to go back home."  
  
Taka looked at her with a masked expression of surprise. She just shrugged at him.  
  
"Oh, I see," Aro said, seeming to accept this answer, "You did make it to the humans though?"  
  
For a moment, Taka continued to look at Roxy. She honestly couldn't tell if he was thankful for her intervention, or angry at her. "I did, yes," he finally answered.  
  
"Well, at least you know the way, then," Aro said.  
  
Roxy caught Taka giving her one more sidelong glance. He didn't _seem_ angry at her.  
  
"I imagine, then, that you will not be staying for long?"  
  
Taka shook his head. "Unfortunately not."  
  
Aro nodded in acceptance. "That is a shame," he said, "but even so, it is a pleasure to see you once again. As well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Roxy."  
  
Roxy winced a little as he mispronounced her name. She had gotten used to everybody in the Thunder Clan, who had learned to say her name properly.  
  
"Would you like to spend the night here, at least?" Aro asked them.  
  
"That would be very much appreciated, Aro," Taka said with a nod.  
  
Roxy smiled gratefully at the Snivy. She understood that sleeping here would mean they would both get a full eight hours of sleep tonight, maybe even more. She was already looking forward to that.  
  
Aro stood up and clapped his paws together. "Excellent! I will go see if I can find some bedding for you two." Then, he turned and quickly ran off to the other side of the glade.  
  
Now that he was gone, Roxy turned to Taka. "So…Why is he a Snivy?" she asked him.  
  
"No-one knows for sure," Taka answered, though he didn't look at her, "Aro was just born that way. For whatever reason, no matter how old he grows or how much he battles, he cannot evolve. Years passed, his brothers grew up and became Serperior, and yet he stayed the same."  
  
Roxy was stuck silent for a moment from sheer fascination. "Wow, really…?" she said, "That's wild. I've never heard of something like that before…" It was the truth. She had read about plenty of medical problems, including birth defects and diseases, from medical books with her master. Not once had she ever come across anything that would cause a Pokémon to be unable to evolve. It was like a Pokémon not being able to age; it just didn't make sense.   
  
"And he's the only one?" she asked as a follow up question.  
  
"Yes. No-one else in this tribe has been affected."  
  
"Aw, wow…" Roxy said with a frown, "That must really suck."  
  
He gave her a look and then shrugged. "Not necessarily." He then glanced over in the direction of where Aro had gone. "Aro is the kind of Pokémon that does not let obstacles stand in his way. He has trained just as hard as everyone else here, and it shows. Aro has learned to use his small size to his advantage. He is quick, nimble and deft in the arena. You should see the way he fights. He is not the leader of this whole tribe simply because everybody felt sorry for him."  
  
"Really?" Roxy followed his gaze, spotting Aro talking to some other villagers.  
  
"I will ask him if he is to take part in the arena tonight. I would encourage you to watch his skills. They are very impressive."  
  
She turned back to looking at him. "Wait…What 'arena'?"  
  
He smirked a little. "The Gaia Tribe enjoy combat for sport. There is an area set aside where members of the tribe battle one another in non-volatile combat. Sometimes, visitors take part as well."  
  
"Holy smokes, really?"   
  
When Taka nodded in answer, Roxy found herself gazing at her surroundings. Now that she was no longer telling her own backstory, most of the tribe had gone back to whatever they had been doing. Everyone seemed rather friendly, and Roxy couldn't find a single Pokémon that was sitting by themselves. Everyone seemed to be with either a friend, their family, or a mate. She was finding it a little difficult to imagine them as the type to engage in gladiatorial combat.  
  
"They're very open and friendly," she commented,  "We only had to pass one guard to get into their territory."  
  
"Well, for one, we were with Aro."  
  
"I guess that's true, but still… They're distinctly less…xenophobic than the rest of this forest."  
  
She saw Taka shrug out the corner of her eye. "Who can say why? Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right. No neighbouring tribe has managed to drive then out of their territory."  
  
Roxy giggled softly to herself. "It's probably because of Aro's brother. Anyone tries to invade, and he'll just eat'em."  
  
Taka didn't seem to find her joke funny, but that was okay because Aro returned to them a minute later. "Two beds are being set up," he informed them.  
  
"Good. Thank you, Aro," Taka replied.  
  
"It is no trouble," he said with a wave of his paw. Then, he turned to address Roxy. "I instructed them to make your bedding especially soft." With a wink, he added, "I had a feeling that might be something you would enjoy."  
  
"Oh, you have no idea!" she replied earnestly, "I'm so sick of lying on tree branches and waking up with such a stiff back!" She caught Taka off to the side shaking his head, but she ignored him.  
  
"Say, Aro," Taka spoke up, "Will you be in the arena tonight, or perhaps tomorrow?"  
  
Aro's face immediately brightened. "I was hoping you would bring that up. Yes, in fact! You are both very fortuitous. I am facing off against Zakata in unarmed combat this evening."  
  
"Zakata? Hm, that should be interesting," Taka said with a paw under his chin in thought.  
  
"Who's Zakata?" Roxy asked.  
  
"He would be leader of this tribe if I were to perish," Aro replied, "There is disagreement amongst our tribe over which one of us is truly the strongest, and I always aim to sway the decision in my favour." He grinned to himself. He looked a little haughty and full of himself, but Roxy had also picked up a hint of a joking tone in his voice. If she had to guess, she would have said the two had nothing more than a friendly rivalry.  
  
"He's a Grovyle,"  Taka added.  
  
"Oh. So, it's like a skirmish then?"  
  
"Indeed," Aro answered, "The objective is to pin or otherwise disable your opponent, not to actually defeat them in combat."  
  
"Like wrestling?"  
  
"Not really…There is still an element of 'battling' involved."  
  
"Well, cool!" Roxy replied, "It sounds fun. I can't wait!"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Noon passed into the afternoon, until only a few hours of daylight remained. So far, Roxy had really enjoyed her time among this new tribe. She had eaten her fill of berries, gotten to talk with some interesting and friendly Pokémon, and, most importantly, had gotten to relax! It was like a mini-vacation on her perilous journey home.  
  
She was spared the monotony of repeating her own story to the others, thanks to many of them having listened in earlier and spread the word to others. Instead, she found a great number of Pokémon from the tribe asking her about the human world. For a couple of hours, she became a living encyclopaedia. Roxy didn't mind in the least, though. It was worth it to see all of the fascinated looks on their faces, especially on the young cubs.  
  
With about a half-hour to go until the arena match, Roxy was once again chatting with Aro. Taka had gone off somewhere, leaving her to talk to the Snivy alone.  
  
He was a really friendly Pokémon and a generous host, but Roxy still couldn't help but feel weird whenever she looked at him. The fact that he was so much smaller and younger-looking than she was, and yet was at least five to ten years older than her. Even though she herself was still in the 'mid-stage' of her evolutionary line, she still associated many first-stage Pokémon like Snivy as cubs. This was especially evident because Snivy, among many other first-stagers, evolved early in life.  
  
Roxy, of course, had met many Pokémon older than her who were her size or even smaller. Some Pokémon simply did not evolve, such as that one neighbour's Farfetch'd. The fact was that the Pokémon in front of her was clashing with the established link in her mind between evolution and ageing.   
  
"So…If you don't mind me asking," she ventured, "What's it like?"  
  
"Hm?" he said, glancing up from the berry he was eating.  
  
"I'm trying to imagine going my whole life, making it to old age, as a Pichu…but I just can't picture it." A moment passed and she suddenly backpedaled. "N-Not to say that you're 'old age', I just mean-"  
  
He cut her off by laughing. "I _am_ old," he stated plainly, "Or at least compared to the rest of the village. I have been a part of the Gaia Tribe for a long time, Roxy. Years have passed by. Eventually, I just stopped worrying about it. I could not control it, I cannot change it, so I accepted that it is a part of who I am. I learned and I adapted. I found strengths instead of focusing on weaknesses." He smiled and shook his head softly. "If remaining as a Snivy is what the great Arceus has decided for me, well then that is fine."  
  
"I just wonder why, though."  
  
Aro simply shrugged. After a moment of silence, he then spoke. "Now then, if you will pemit me to ask you a potentially uncomfortable question…"  
  
She glanced at him in confusion. "Huh?"  
  
"What _really_ happened to Taka?"  
  
Roxy practically froze, as if her blood had chilled to ice. She felt like she had just been caught lying through her teeth. "Uhhhh…" She glanced at her surroundings, trying to see if Taka was anywhere nearby.  
  
"If he has told you something in confidence, I will not ask you to repeat it. I am simply concerned. That is all."  
  
When she was sure Taka was nowhere within earshot, she gave Aro a frown. She took a moment and weighed her options, trying to decide what to say to Aro, if anything at all.  
  
"Something…really bad happened," she said, "Like…really, _really_ bad…"  
  
Aro frowned as well. "Oh, I see…"  
  
"He did make it to the city, but something awful happened there that…changed him… After that, he turned around and never looked back. Eventually he made it back home to the Thunder Clan."  
  
"He does seem different…" Aro commented.  
  
"I'm really lucky that he's agreed to take me out of the forest at all…because it means going _back_ to that city…"  
  
A moment of melancholy silence passed.  
  
"But…he is okay now?" Aro asked, sounding genuinely concerned.  
  
"I think so…For the most part, anyway. It's been hard for him, but he's had family and friends helping him. I think he's gonna have this dark cloud hovering over him for most of his life, unfortunately, but…He'll be okay. He's tough."  
  
Aro simply nodded.  
  
"So, uh…" Roxy said after a moment of silence, trying to change the topic, "Are those marks on your body the same kinda thing as the Thunder Clan has? Do they represent things like accomplishments?"  
  
Aro nodded again. "They do. This is a custom that has spread fairly far throughout this forest."  
  
"It's amazing. The human world has no idea that this is going on."  
  
"I must say, though," Aro said, giving her a curious look, "It is very interesting to see _you_ wearing the marks of the Thunder Clan."  
  
"Oh!" Roxy glanced down at the green marks on her fur. "Didn't I mention that? Oh, oops. They gave them to me for my help in fighting off the Earth Tribe."  
  
"That is a great honour, especially for someone like you; a pet from the human world who dropped out of the sky."  
  
She blushed a little. "I dunno…For some reason, it still doesn't feel like they belong on me. Don't get me wrong, I was very excited to get them and I still smile when I see them, but…"  
  
"If the Thunder Clan gave them to you, then you deserve them. Otherwise, they would not have given them to you." He smiled warmly, and for just a moment Roxy could see his age showing through his expression. "They must have truly valued you as a friend and tribesmate."  
  
She sighed nostalgically. "They did…They were all so much nicer than they had to be. I was a stranger, after all. They could've just kicked me out. They were all so wonderful…and I miss them so much already."  
  
"I have only had the pleasure of meeting Taka, and now yourself," Aro said, "but hearing your story almost makes me want to venture out just so I can meet the rest of them. They sound like a wonderful tribe."  
  
Roxy smiled and nodded in agreement, thinking back to the wonderful times she'd had there. "You know…They welcomed me so warmly that I really did…and still do…feel like a family member with all of them." She chuckled a little and gazed off to the side for a moment. "But I still always felt like a Magikarp out of water. No matter what happened I was always a pet, never a wild tribal Pokémon."  
  
Aro chuckled as well. "You _are_ a tribal Pokémon, Roxy. Your tribe is your home, with your human. It may be much smaller and not what you imagine, but a tribe is just another word for friends and family." He held his forelimbs out in a sweeping motion. "There are so many tribes in this forest and we have seen visitors from so many of them. Each tribe is so vastly different from the next. Each one has its own unique customs and traditions, and it is fascinating to learn from these visitors and share knowledge with them."  
  
He then looked back over at her. "Your situation is no different. Because you come from the human world, under the care of a human, you have brought with you your own unique customs and traditions. I wish you could stay longer so I could find out more about you."  
  
His words caused her to smile a little. Feeling out of place in the forest had been something that she had just gotten used to, but the way he talked about her world helped put things in perspective a little. Except for a few exceptions like Taka, no Pokémon in this forest had even _seen_ a human before.  
  
"Are they really so different?" Roxy asked, "I've only really known the Thunder Clan, and the Earth Tribe was…Well, I didn't exactly have a chance to learn about their customs…"  
  
Aro laughed. "I do not blame you."  
  
"What sort of traditions do you have here?"  
  
"Well…" Aro reached down and grasped the necklace of stones around his neck. "Promising youths are given a necklace with but a single stone on it. Whenever they prove themselves to the tribe in some way or another, a stone is added."  
  
Roxy leaned in a little to look more closely at the necklace. She could see now that the 'string' was made of vines, and the stones were carefully woven in. Most of the stones were the size of a pebble, but she couldn't find any two that looked the same.  
  
She then jumped back slightly as Aro started to remove the necklace and pull it up over his head. "Here," he said afterwards, offering it to her in his paw.  
  
Roxy stared at it confused for a moment, then flushed as she realized what had happened. "Oh. Oops, I'm so sorry. I guess I did get a little too close to you, didn't I?"  
  
He shrugged. "I was not bothered, but you did seem like you wanted a closer look. Here, go ahead."  
  
She nodded in thanks and took the necklace into her own paws. Despite the number of stones woven into it, it was not that heavy. Roxy reasoned that she herself could comfortably wear it. "There's so many," she commented, "Wow, it's no wonder you're the leader of the tribe…"  
  
Aro smiled humbly and made a dismissive gesture with his paw.   
  
"And you did all of this without being able to evolve. _Wow._ " She leaned in a little closer and inspected some of the stones. A couple of them seemed really smooth, and a couple even sparkled in the sunlight. Roxy wondered if some of them could actually be gems instead of rocks. She chuckled and said to herself, _Imagine if one of these was a diamond…_  
  
"And with the passing of this necklace," Aro spoke in a solemn tone, "You are now officially the leader of this tribe."  
  
Roxy shot him a panicked look. " _What?!_ "  
  
Aro immediately started laughing. "It was a joke, Roxy."  
  
"…Oh," Roxy said once her heart started beating again. After a moment, she started to giggle as well at her own foolishness.  
  
"Aro! There you are! Hurry up!"  
  
Both of them glanced up to see a Simisage off in the distance waving at them. More specifically, he was waving at Aro.  
  
"What?" he replied.  
  
"Your match is starting soon!"  
  
Aro immediately bolted up. "Is it really? Oh heavens, I have lost track of time…" He gave Roxy an apologetic look, but was already in the process of running off as he spoke. "Sorry, Roxy! I need to go prepare for the arena. I will see you there!"  
  
"Oh! Uh…Yeah, okay! Good luck!" she called after him, slightly staggered by his sudden departure. Nevertheless, she watched him dash off to prepare for his bout. She couldn't miss the big smile on his face, and could easily tell how excited he was to get into the arena. Seeing this made Roxy all the more curious about what sort of fights went on there.  
  
Then, something occurred to her. "Hey! Aro!" she shouted, hoping he would still hear her, "Your necklace!" She punctuated her exclamation by holding up the article in question and waving it back and forth in the air.  
  
"I will retrieve it afterwards!" he called back.  
  
He disappeared into the trees not a second later, leaving Roxy sitting there somewhat awkwardly with Aro's necklace. After a moment, she shrugged and reasoned that giving it back to him after his match would be all right.

With some time still left before the match, she found herself examining the various stones once more. There was a surprising amount of colour variance between them. There were green, blue, and even orange stones. She couldn't tell if they were naturally like that, or if they had been recoloured somehow.  
  
About twenty minutes later, Taka returned to her. "Where did you get that?" he asked as he strode up.  
  
Roxy lifted her gaze and gave him a nonplussed look. "Well, hello to you as well," she said flatly, "Aro gave it to me so I could get a closer look, but then he had to run off."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Roxy watched Taka shrug and then wander off to the side. She rolled her eyes, supposing that was the end of that conversation.  
  
A short time later, the air was suddenly filled with a loud sound that sounded like a deep horn. Roxy straightened up in alarm and looked around in confusion.  
  
"It is an instrument made out of a hollowed piece of wood," Taka explained before she could even ask her question, "Come. The match is to begin."  
  
Roxy quickly slipped the necklace around her neck and stood up. "Really? They made their own horn?" she asked as she began to follow him across the glade, "Wow, this forest is just fascinating…"  
  
She glanced around and saw almost the entire tribe were moving as well, slowly congregating in the same general direction. Only a few stayed behind, likely to remain on guard duty. Everyone looked rather jovial as they moved, speaking animatedly to each other. The cubs in particular all looked really excited.  
  
"This looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun," Roxy said with a smile, "It's like going to a baseball game or a soccer game or something." She then giggled to herself. "I wish I had some popcorn!"  
  
Taka groaned in front of her.  
  
"What?" she asked, giving him a confused look.  
  
He glanced back at her over his shoulder. "I happen to know what 'popcorn' is," he informed her in a flat tone, "Now you've gone and made me want some."  
  
Roxy blinked and stared at him for a moment, then burst out in another fit of giggles. "Ah, don't worry Taka," she said as she stepped up to pat him on his shoulder, "I love popcorn too. I can probably get you some when we get to the city."  
  
The two followed the flow of the crowd as they left the glade and moved through the trees for a fairly short distance. Soon enough, they began to pool around their destination. Roxy eagerly squeezed herself to the front of the crowd, and was astounded by what she saw.  
  
In a small, very shallow valley, a vaguely circular arena had been carved out of the ground. Literally, the forest floor appeared to have been _ripped_ out, along with several feet of dirt below it, to form what looked like an above-ground pool without the water. The walls of the shallow arena were smooth, and looked like they required constant upkeep. Splayed somewhat awkwardly overtop of the arena was a large fallen tree. It was mostly branchless, but a few odd limbs stuck out, and a few of them reached down to the bottom of the arena.   
  
Taka stepped up next to her. "I will admit, it is rather impressive."  
  
"Holy smokes…" she murmured, "What? Did they hire out Ground-Type contractors to dig this?"  
  
"As far as I know, the Gaia Tribe created this themselves."  
  
She looked over at Taka in disbelief, and then back at the arena itself. "That must have taken tons of work!"  
  
Suddenly a voice rang out loudly. "Brethren of the Gaia Tribe, and honoured guests!"   
  
Roxy turned to see that the Breloom from earlier had leapt up on top of the fallen tree and was addressing the crowd. She wondered what sort of status he held within the tribe.  
  
"Welcome to this evening's arena match. Today, our mighty leader Aro is ready to face off once again against the mighty Zakata!"  
  
A cheer erupted from the crowd, and Roxy saw the two named Pokémon step forward from the sea of villagers and hop down into the pit. Aro was on the side closest to her, while on the opposite end was a rather intimidating-looking Grovyle. There seemed to be an equal amount of body paint to scars covering his body, and the leaf on the top of his head had a massive rip in it. While he looked like a hardened warrior, though, he was smiling and acting like he hadn't seen an injury in his life.  
  
"Featured today," the Breloom continued, "is unarmed combat with traditional victory rules. You all know how this goes, so I shall not waste any more time." He then made an impressive leap off of the tree and landed on the edge of the pit.  
  
Down below, Aro and his foe gave each other determined and confident glares, though both still wore a half grin. The Grovyle, Zakata, had to be at least twice as tall as Aro, probably closer to three times as tall. Aro looked positively miniscule in comparison. It made Roxy feel a little worried. Though she couldn't see any malice in Zakata's expression, and figured that the two would fight fairly, she still couldn't imagine how the little Snivy could duel against such a larger opponent without getting really hurt.  
  
"Begin!!"  
  
Roxy didn't have any more time to think about it, because the duel commenced like a gunshot. She blinked and Aro was gone from his starting point, and it took her a moment to find him again. Taka hadn't been lying; Aro was _fast_! He ran full tilt, with his head almost touching the ground and his leafy tail held out parallel behind him, and he zipped from spot to spot without ever going the same direction twice.  
  
Zakata stood his ground and kept a careful eye on Aro. It looked like he was no stranger to Aro's movements and wasn't about to let himself get caught off guard. He looked like a tensed coil, ready to spring at any minute.  
  
Aro struck first, and what happened next went by so fast that Roxy almost missed it. Aro had quickly leapt up from the ground, snaking through the air like a missile, aimed directly for Zakata's head. The Grovyle had retaliated just in the nick of time, bringing up his forelimb and whacking Aro away like a pesky Bug-Type. She watched the Snivy tumble off to the side.  
  
A moment later, Roxy realized she was wrong. Aro hadn't been struck. He had managed to bound off of Zakata's limb as if it were a platform and was now sailing through the air in the opposite direction. Before a second could even pass, vines sprouted from behind Aro's shoulders and shot directly towards the fallen tree. They gripped onto one of the branches and then tightened, letting Aro use it to swing himself back around towards Zakata. His momentum now increased even more, Zakata could not block Aro's strike in time.  
  
Aro landed on the ground behind Zakata, skidding to a stop with a triumphant grin on his face. Though Zakata had been struck right in the side of the head, he did not waste any time in lashing out at the Snivy a mere millisecond later. Aro darted to the side and dodged this.  
  
It seemed Zakata had been expecting this, and was already diving through the air in mid-pounce, aimed directly for where Aro was standing. Before the Grovyle could make contact, though, Aro did something else spectacular. He sprouted his vines once more and pressed them straight down to the ground. Then, he used them to push himself straight up as if they were a set of really long legs, and Zakata passed right through the empty space below.  
  
All of this happened in the span of a few seconds, leaving Roxy's head spinning.  
  
She watched the two combatants move about, and was constantly surprised by Aro's grace. He moved through the air like water, never sitting still for more than a second. He was frequently making liberal use of his vines, almost as if they were the wires used by human performers on stage when they were meant to 'fly'.   
  
Both of them eventually managed to land a few hits on each other, which never amounted to more than a striking blow with a limb or a vine. Zakata had tried to grab hold of Aro a few times, but hadn't been successful. In some ways it was similar to a Pokémon Battle, but in a lot of ways it was not. For one thing, they were not using very many official Moves.  
  
"Aro's tactic is to exhaust his opponent," Taka commented, drawing her gaze for a moment, "At least, in combat such as this."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Aro is forcing his opponent to lash out, but is able to evade almost every strike. Eventually, his opponent will tire simply due to their larger body mass, while Aro will have kept his own stamina carefully under control."  
  
She glanced back down. As she did, she barely managed to catch a glimpse of Aro _sliding_ along the ground like a baserunner in baseball, with one vine hooked onto a tree branch. When the vine became taut, he used the bungee-like momentum to lift himself back up and speeding off in the other direction. His Tackle then landed directly in Zakata's midsection, causing the Grovyle to stumble back a little.  
  
"One of the ways to end combat like this is to pin one's opponent down," Taka continued, "but this is not usually an option for Aro."  
  
Roxy nodded in understanding. It was obvious, considering his size.  
  
"On the other paw, one can win by completely incapacitating their opponent. That is where his exceptional control over his vines becomes his advantage."  
  
She then gave Taka a sidelong glance. "You seem to know quite a lot about how Aro fights."  
  
Taka subtly shrugged. "Aro is an experienced and skilled fighter. Even I did not expect to win against him when I entered the arena."  
  
Roxy gave him a brief surprised glance. Now that was a story she needed to hear at some point.  
  
The match continued on for a couple more exciting minutes. The gathered crowd did not cheer, seeming to remain relatively quiet so that the combatants could focus. There was plenty of excited murmuring however, and many encouraging smiles and gestures.  
  
Roxy started to notice that Zakata was starting to breathe a little more heavily. She thought about what Taka had told her about Aro exhausting his opponents.  
  
A moment later, Aro struck. Nearly as fast as a bullet, Aro slammed right into Zakata's belly. Then, before the Grovyle could react, Aro quickly wrapped his vines around the wrists on Zakata's forelimbs. Using his forward momentum, Aro slid between Zakata's hind legs and ended up behind him, and then pulled hard with his vines. Zakata's forelimbs were yanked down between his own legs, causing him to easily topple forward onto his face.  
  
Aro wasted no time. He deftly hopped onto Zakata's back and stood there, still holding his vines taut. With his forelimbs being pulled through his hind legs, Zakata was pretty effectively pretzeled. With no way to counterbalance his overturned body weight, Zakata was left with no option to push himself back up into a standing position.  
  
Zakata did struggle as best he could. He thrashed with his hind legs, and even tried to hit Aro with a Razor Leaf attack from the leaf on his head. It didn't matter, though. Aro held strong and seemed to have effectively immobilized the Grovyle. A blow of the horn a few seconds later confirmed it; Aro had won.  
  
The moment the sound of the horn resonated through the air, Aro retracted all of his vines and hopped off of Zakata. The Grovyle stood up, a defeated but humble look on his face, and dusted himself off. The two combatants faced each other, stood in silence for a moment, and then shared a simple pawshake.  
  
Aro then turned to address the crowd and raised up his forelimbs in victory. Still there was no cheering from the crowd, like Roxy would have expected after a fight. Instead there was applause and a few impressed words shared between the villagers. It was like Aro had won a chess match instead of a rigorous battle against a strong foe, but Aro seemed to appreciate it just as much. Roxy happily joined in with the applause.  
  
The tree cover was thick in this area, but a few stray beams of sunshine managed to force their way through. One of them must have been shining down on Aro, because he looked like he was simply glowing with triumph. Obviously winning this match meant a lot to him.  
  
Roxy was thoroughly impressed. Size difference was usually not something that solely decided who would win a match, as some Pokémon species remained small even when fully evolved. Still, Snivy were very small, tiny creatures who didn't exactly project an image of strength. To take on a fully-grown Grovyle so much bigger than he was, and to make the victory look so easy, was simply astounding to her.   
  
The murmurs in the crowd began to grow louder in volume, and Roxy noted a moment later that they almost sounded concerned. She glanced around, and saw that many of them were pointing down into the arena. Curious, Roxy turned and looked down as well, but all she saw was Aro and Zakata.  
  
Her brow furrowed as she leaned in a little bit, looking at Aro. At first she wasn't sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it became clear once Zakata let out a startled yelp when he saw it. Aro was glowing with much more than a sense of victory.  
  
His whole body was beginning to glow white. Aro seemed confused for a moment when he saw all the concerned gazes being directed at him, but he caught a glimpse of his own paw a moment later and gasped. He frantically started inspecting his whole body, which was very slowly glowing brighter and brighter.  
  
"Ah!" he gasped out, and then fell down onto all fours. Zakata stepped forward to help him, but hesitated.   
  
At first Roxy was concerned, and then she went back to being confused. It took her a bit longer than she would have liked to realize what was happening, and she only really clued in once the other villagers started to shout it.  
  
"He's…evolving!" she muttered in a stupefied voice.  
  
"He is…!" Taka confirmed, equally as stupefied.  
  
The murmurs of the villagers around them rose to a higher pitch, running the gambit of emotions. Many were confused, some still seemed concerned, but some others were starting to express joy and fascination. It wasn't long before everybody was atwitter about the dimly glowing Snivy down in the arena.  
  
"Oh my gosh, this is really happening isn't it?" Roxy asked, starting to feel a little excitement of her own.   
  
"It does seem that way," Taka replied, "but…How? Why?"  
  
"Oh, he must be so excited! It's finally happening!" Roxy was grinning brightly. A few of the audience members started to applaud once more, and Roxy happily joined in. She couldn't imagine the feeling of finally getting to evolve after _years_ of being denied it.  
  
Aro was still on all fours. His back was arched, looking like he was ready to either pounce or throw up. The bright glow enveloping his body was slowly growing brighter, and was now starting to obscure the green colour in his skin.  
  
Roxy hesitated in her applause when she saw his face, though. He had his teeth grit and his eyes clenched shut. When she looked a little closer, she thought she could see his digits squeezing and clawing at the dirt under him.  
  
"Is he okay?" she asked.  
  
"I am not so sure…" Taka answered, uncertainty in his tone.  
  
She frowned. "Gosh, it looks like he's in pain." She turned to look at Taka. "Evolution's not supposed to be painful. It feels really weird, but it doesn't hurt," she said, speaking from experience.  
  
"No, it does not…" Taka said in agreement.  
  
Roxy regarded the Snivy once more. "Maybe it hurts because it's been put off for so long? I've never heard of anything like that, but he's been a Snivy for a _long_ time, so maybe? I hope that's all it is, because a little pain will be worth it when he becomes a Servine, right?"  
  
It seemed like some of the other villagers had noticed his distress as well. The applause had stopped, and some of the Pokémon were making their way down into the arena and heading out to aid him. She was too far away to hear him, but the way his face was twisted up made it look like he was groaning in pain. It almost looked like he was bracing himself on the ground, as if holding on against a powerful gust of wind. Roxy became increasingly worried, as well as confused.  
  
"He doesn't want to…"  
  
Roxy turned towards Taka, and saw that he looked as if a lightbulb had appeared over his head. "What?" she asked.  
  
"He is trying to stop it," Taka clarified, "He is trying to keep the Evolution from happening. He is trying to stay as a Snivy!"  
  
"What?!" Roxy blurted out, "Why??"  
  
"How should I know? I am not psychic!"  
  
She turned and looked at Aro once more, who was glowing almost too brightly to see. Now that she got another look at the way he was behaving, it did look like he was straining against something. Roxy had heard stories of Pokémon trying to stop their own Evolution, and it was always described as a nearly-impossible struggle. If that was the case, then it might be even more difficult if Evolution had been postponed for this long.  
  
"Are you sure??" she asked.  
  
She squinted and tried to see past the bright glow. The process would be over in only a few short seconds. Though it was hard to see much of anything, Roxy was just barely able to see one thing. Aro was shaking his head, as if saying 'no'.  
  
He _was_ trying to stop the Evolution.  
  
Roxy's heart suddenly doubled its speed as she leapt up onto her paws. Aro was going to become a Servine faster than she could say 'Viridian City' if someone didn't do something. "Aro!!" she shouted as loudly as she could.  
  
It looked like Aro could barely move, but he did wrench open one of his eyes and look up at her.  
  
Roxy grabbed the necklace that she was still wearing and frantically yanked it up over her head. "Catch!!" she shouted before reeling back and tossing the necklace towards Aro as hard as she could.  
  
The necklace tumbled awkwardly through the air, and Roxy had a brief moment of panic that she hadn't thrown it far enough. Her fears were assuaged when the necklace sailed flawlessly towards the downed Snivy in a perfect arc. Aro lifted up a single paw and caught it.  
  
"Put it on!" she shouted.  
  
Aro quickly slipped it over his rather large head, and then collapsed forward onto all fours again. For a moment, everybody silently waited. Ten tense seconds passed with no change. Aro continued to glow just as brightly.  
  
Then, slowly but surely, the glow began to fade. The stress levels visible on Aro's face receded with it, and he took in a few heavy breaths. His glowing body grew dimmer and dimmer. Roxy could see some of the villagers in the arena giving each other perplexed looks, but she focused on Aro completely.  
  
A few more tense, silent seconds passed by. Aro remained on all fours, staring ahead and simply panting as the glow receded from his body. Then, at last, his body stopped glowing completely and it looked as if nothing had happened to him in the first place. Aro promptly collapsed onto his stomach as he let out a haggard breath of relief. The other villagers immediately went to his aid.  
  
Roxy, meanwhile, sighed in relief and sat back down. Her heart still thumped wildly in her chest from all of the excitement. She cocked her head to the side and saw that Taka was giving her a look that could only be called 'befuddled'.   
  
She just offered him a smile and winked.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"I had a sneaking suspicion, but it turned out I was right!"  
  
Roxy was seated back in the patch where she had been sitting before the arena match, with Aro and Taka sitting before her. They were both listening to her every word, as were about 75 percent of the rest of the village who had gathered around in a circle.  
  
Aro was looking fine. He had been pretty exhausted after the ordeal, but after a few berries was none the worse for wear. Though he did his best to mask it, Roxy could tell he was still a little shaken by what had happened.   
  
"A suspicion of what?" Taka asked, prodding her to explain further.  
  
Roxy leaned forward and pointed to Aro's necklace. "One of these must be an Everstone."  
  
Aro and Taka shared a perplexed look. "A what?" Aro replied.  
  
She giggled softly. "It's a rare kind of stone that has unique properties," she explained, recalling what she had read in her master's books, "They are very valuable to humans, mostly because they are so hard to find."  
  
The confused looks that remained on their faces told her that neither had ever heard of an Everstone before. "What does this…Everstone do?" Aro asked.  
  
"If an Everstone is held by a Pokémon and kept in close contact with their body, it keeps them from Evolving. So long as a Pokémon holds one, they will never Evolve."  
  
Now she heard a few gasps ring out through her audience. Aro had gasped as well, and then he glanced down at the necklace. "…Truly?" he asked in a quiet voice.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"That is why I…The _whole_ reason why I could not Evolve was because…"  
  
Roxy smiled sympathetically and leaned forward to pat Aro on the shoulder. "I'm afraid so."  
  
She expected him to sigh or lament this unfortunate fact, but she did not expect him to burst out chuckling all of a sudden. "Oh dear heavens…" he muttered through his laughter, "That is ridiculous. Of all the things…"  
  
"I guess one of the first stones on there was the Everstone. I don't know how to tell them apart, so I couldn't show you which one was the Everstone if you were to ask me…"  
  
Aro's laughter died down. "What are the odds, hm?"  
  
"What I don't get, though…" Roxy said with a curious frown, "…is why you wanted it to stop. I thought you'd be happy to become a Servine at last. I thought you'd be over the moon, and yet you're still a Snivy."  
  
He gave her a grin as he replied. "Because a Snivy is who I am." At her perplexed look, he chuckled and continued speaking. "If this Everstone had been discovered many years ago, then you would be right. I would have happily embraced the Evolution that had been kept from me for so long. But, as I told you before, I learned how to accept my fate. I have embraced being a Snivy for far more than a decade at this point… I would not want that to change now."  
  
"Really?" Roxy said, slightly in disbelief, "So you really want to be a Snivy forever, even though you don't have to now?"  
  
He nodded, and then chuckled once more. "Perhaps when I am on my deathbed…I will do it just to see what it is like."  
  
A wave of laughter spread through the gathered audience.  
  
Aro reached down and gently grasped the necklace in one of his paws. "If this is what will keep me as a Snivy, then I shall never part with it." A smile appeared on his face, and to Roxy it looked as if it contained a thousand different emotions.  
  
She was silent for a moment, but then smiled and said, "Well, I'm happy for you, then. Glad to have the mystery solved at least, right?"  
  
"Heh, yeah."  
  
Taka then leaned in and finally contributed to the conversation. "I am happy for you as well, Aro. When I first met you, you had already accepted your fate and I was happy to see that this had not changed when I returned. I feel like this is the right decision. You know yourself, and you have gotten to know yourself for a great many years by now."  
  
Roxy giggled and added, "As they say, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'"  
  
The two at first gave her an odd look, but Aro joined in with her laughter a moment later. Roxy looked at him, and she saw how genuine his smile was. She had felt so sorry for Aro at first, thinking that he was beset with a handicap. Now, seeing just how happy he was even after being offered a chance to fix the issue, made her believe as well that he shouldn't change. She'd only known him for less than a day, but one thing was plainly obvious to her by this point.  
  
Aro was a very strong, wise and skilled Snivy.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Evening fell, and most of the village prepared to go to sleep. Roxy knew that most Grass-Types preferred to only be active when the sun was out because of their physiology, and indeed it seemed like sundown was definitely 'lights out' around this village. She and Taka were settling themselves into the two separate grassy beds they had been provided.  
  
"Taka."  
  
He stopped what he was doing and looked over at her. "Hm?"  
  
"You've been giving me weird looks all afternoon. Something you wanna say?"  
  
"I have most certainly not been giving you 'weird' looks."  
  
Roxy chuckled softly and shook her head.  
  
A moment later, Taka spoke up. "I simply feel that I must say…Your knowledge from the human world was quite useful today. Certainly if it had not been for this knowledge, Aro's life would have been drastically changed."  
  
She gave him a cheeky grin. "Thank you, Taka. You're too kind."  
  
Taka sat down on his bedding. "I do not think very many Pokémon in this forest, if any at all, have ever heard of this stone. It makes me wonder if anyone else has been stricken with this 'affliction'."  
  
"Well," Roxy replied, "Now that Aro and the Gaia Tribe know, they can help spread the word! You said they get a lot of visitors through here, didn't you?"  
  
"That is true…"  
  
Roxy shrugged and sat down on her own bedding. "I'm just glad I could throw the necklace to him in time. It all turned out good. Right now, I'm just stoked to get a whole night's sleep."  
  
Taka looked like was going to say something, but hesitated.  
  
"What?" she said, giving him a look.  
  
"I suppose…I should learn to trust your viewpoints a little more often."  
  
Roxy swelled with pride, and perhaps a touch of a sense of victory, upon hearing him say that. "Thank you, Taka," she said, more sincerely this time.  
  
Taka then promptly laid down on his bedding, facing away from her. "Enough talk," he said, "We have been given safe shelter and should capitalize on this. Go to sleep."  
  
For a moment, Roxy just sat there and looked at him. She considered saying something else, but shrugged it off and just chuckled to herself. She knew that he was right about getting some sleep. It had been a rather exciting day, but she had no doubts that she would be asleep as soon as her head hit the bedding.  
  
So, that is exactly what happened.


	27. Battle Scars

Yesterday, nearly everyone in the Gaia Tribe had been watching a spectacle unfold. Everyone had been standing around, gathered together, and staring wide-eyed at what they saw. It was easy to say that many of them were shocked. Today, the exact same thing was happening.

Except this time, they were all staring at Roxy.

"…How?!" someone blurted out.

Roxy giggled as she waved some of the grass strands around in a showy manner. "Humans," she replied, deciding to oversimplify the answer.

A vast majority of the tribe was gathered in the middle of the patch, watching Roxy perform a Move that she figured most of them probably already knew. Even so, to them it was still fascinating to see a Pikachu capable of pulling it off. Roxy hated to admit she was starting to enjoy being a spectacle.

One of the Simisage lumbered over, and reached out his hand to grasp one of the strands. He seemed mystified by what he was seeing, or perhaps _feeling_.

"Taka!" Aro said, turning to look at the Pikachu in question, "Where did you find her?"

Taka seemed to be smirking in satisfaction. "She has passed the skill on to our entire tribe," he said, "She was the one who saved our village from an invasion of the Earth Tribe."

Roxy glanced over to Taka as well with a smile on her face. It was nice, and also a little strange, to hear genuine praise coming from him.

Suddenly Aro perked up with a look of understanding. "Ah! Yes, truly, I recall tell of your tribe's difficult relationship with your neighbours. They actually tried to invade?"

"It came outta nowhere," Roxy remarked, still feeling just the tiniest shiver when she remembered the event.

"The blame falls on their new, young leader," Taka added, "Thankfully, we have heard that he was deposed soon after and the Earth Tribe has sought to build peace with our tribe."

"Well, that sounds wonderful," Aro said.

"Many would have died and _all_ would have been lost if not for Roxy. That is why she received her marks."

Roxy blushed a little from all the praise.

"You truly are a remarkable Pokémon, young one," Aro said, and then immediately shifted his gaze and shouted, " _Kunari!_ Stop fondling her grass!"

All eyes shifted to the Simisage, who awkwardly froze and looked incredibly embarrassed. Roxy hadn't even realized that he was still examining the grass strands.

"…Sorry," he muttered.

Roxy was a tad bashful at Aro's choice of language, but she found herself giggling at the Simisage, apparently named 'Kunari'. "It's fine," she said, "I know I'm basically a circus act out here."

"My apologies," he said, "I can perform this skill as well, and I was trying to see if it was similar to mine. It is nearly identical. I am at a loss for words."

"Yup!" Roxy replied, "It's the same Move!" She then dispelled the grass, as she was starting to feel tired.

"Would you be willing to demonstrate this again for me later?"

Roxy didn't answer right away. She glanced over at Taka. He simply shrugged, implying that it was her choice. A part of her did want to get a move on, since they still had a long way to go. She shrugged through and said, "Sure!" She decided that it would be nice to relax for a little bit longer.

"You seemed to take quite a long time before you could unleash this power," Kunari commented.

Roxy rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Yeah. It's still kinda hard. I've been practicing it, but…"

Kunari put a hand on his chin and gave her a contemplative look. "Perhaps I could help with that…"

* * *

"Ready to leave?"

"Hm…?" Roxy murmured somewhat lethargically as she rolled over onto her back to see who was talking to her.

The upside-down face of Taka looked down at her. "We should go."

Roxy groaned softly. "Just gimme like five minutes." After a pause, she added, "And a Leppa."

Taka nodded and sat down close by. "Did you learn anything from Kunari?"

"I did," she said, with a little tired smile on her muzzle, "He's a Grass-Type, so he's really in tune with the energy and stuff. He was able to explain the energy in a way that I could never hope to do, and I think it did help."

She sighed and closed her eyes. It almost certainly _had_ helped her improve. She could execute her Grass Knot with much less charging up now. She had cut the wind-up time in half at least. Unfortunately, doing so had required that she practice. Doing so many Grass Knots in a row had left her feeling pretty drained.

"That is good," Taka commented, "We may still need that skill."

"I should be able to do it faster and keep it going longer now. I'll haveta wait an' see until I put it into practice, but I'm optimistic… Now the only thing left to improve is my thunder…"

She immediately regretted saying that, expecting Taka to berate her lack of skills. However, he simply turned towards her and shrugged. "That is merely your weak skill. Everyone has one."

This was almost enough to make Roxy bolt right up. Almost. One of the things she had promised to Taka that she would improve before leaving the village was her Electric-Type attacks, but that had sort of fallen to the wayside somehow. As it stood, she could still only really do a Thunder Jolt, though perhaps a little more powerful than before. She still hadn't learned even the basic Thunder Shock.

Taka saw her surprised look. "You cannot utilize your thunder? Well, I cannot utilize your grass magic."

Roxy blinked. "Who are you and what have you done with Taka?"

That earned her an odd look.

About fifteen minutes later, Roxy was back on her paws but was still feeling hungry. She and Taka made her way over to the Servine currently in charge of handling their food stocks, who was happy to provide her with a pair of Leppas. This was easily able to bring back the remainder of her lost strength.

It was just as she was finishing this meal that Aro approached them. "Is it time for you two to depart?" he asked once he got close to them.

"I am afraid we have dallied long enough," Taka replied, "The longer one rests, the harder it is for one to get going again."

Aro nodded. "An undeniable truth." He then turned to look at Roxy. "Well, it was wonderful to meet you, young one. Yours is a story that many of us will not forget for a long while." He punctuated his statement with a chuckle.

"Oh, it was so nice to meet all of you!" she replied, "Aside from the Thunder Clan, I'd only met mean, killer Pokémon in this forest so far, so this was a great change of pace!"

"And again, thank you very much for what you did for me during the arena match. Thank heavens for your quick thinking and human ingenuity."

"Aw, it was nothing. Just happy to help," she said with a humble smile, "Thank _you_ for the Leppas!"

"Oh, feel free to take a couple more for your journey. It is better to have and not want."

"That's very kind of you, Aro," Taka said, "Thank you."

A bemused look appeared on Aro's face as Taka went to speak to the Servine once more, and Roxy giggled. "He's starting to talk like me."

"Really, now?" Aro replied, "You know, he always struck me as a wayward soul. A spirit lost in the forest with no real place to call home. Though he never said so directly, it is why I presumed he was on his initial journey in the first place…"

"Yeah, I kinda get what you mean."

Aro looked like he was in deep through for a few more minutes, but then clasped his paws together and said, "Well! The Gaia Tribe wishes the both of you the best of luck. I really do hope you find your way home, Roxy."

"That's so sweet of you, Aro. Thank you. It's all that matters to me. Even if there are a couple of really nice things in this forest, I just can't stop until I get out."

Aro chuckled once more. "Completely understandable."

Taka came back over, his satchel bulging with fruit, to talk to Aro once more. Roxy stepped back to give them some space. It was clear just from the way that the two interacted that they really were good friends. Taka had apparently 'changed' after his first journey, but Aro didn't seem to care very much. She got the feeling that the two of them wished they could see each other more often, despite how impossible such a desire was.

Then they shared a quick hug, and Taka turned and walked off.

"He never cared for goodbyes," Aro commented as she approached again.

"Aro, I know you're the leader of this tribe, and so I'm sorry for this terribly improper thing I am about to do."

"Wh-"

Aro then yelped in surprise as Roxy leaned down and gripped the smaller Pokémon in a tight hug, actually lifting him up off of the ground a few feet. When she set him down again, he seemed a bit bewildered.

"What was that for…?" he muttered.

"Do you know how rare it is that something's smaller than a runt like me?" she asked playfully.

Aro crossed his forelimbs and gave her a look of mock seriousness.

"It was nice to meet you, Aro. I gotta go now. My master is waiting."

He nodded as the smile returned to his face. "Be careful out there, young one," he said, "Do not take unnecessary risks. The forest is full of hungry Pokémon."

She smiled and gave him a wave as she turned and started to head off in the direction Taka had gone. "Don't worry, we'll be careful!" she said, "It's actually been going really well, y'know? Our journey hasn't really been all that dangerous so far!"

* * *

Their journey had gotten a _lot_ more dangerous.

Roxy was crouched in a bush, her heart in her throat, trying desperately to keep herself from shivering lest she shake the bush's branches. It was late twilight, and it was getting really hard to see anything. She gripped her spear as tightly as she could, but it honestly felt about as useful as a toothpick to her.

The Mightyena was out there somewhere.

Roxy huddled herself up into a little ball of stress and wished she could just become invisible. Ever since leaving the territory of the Gaia Tribe, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Now, the pair were encountering a predator or dangerous Pokémon of some kind at least once a day, often more. Not only that, but more predators were _noticing_ them.

Their simple jaunt through the forest had come to an end. Now, every day suddenly felt like a fight for her life. Where before they had run because they wanted to get out of the forest as soon as possible, now they were usually running away from something chasing them. Roxy had pushed herself beyond exhaustion more times than she could count. Every time, it felt like this would be the time she would finally run out of steam and she would end up being caught.

Every time she waited all too eagerly to hear Taka's signal that they should start climbing a tree.

There were the times where they had been forced to fight. To defend their own lives weapons had been brandished and duels had been waged against other Pokémon with sharp teeth, sharp claws, and sometimes even more sharp things. Nothing yet had escalated to the point where Roxy needed to actively attack. So far, she had gotten away with defensive moves and dodges while letting Taka do most of the work.

It had been more than five days since leaving the Gaia Tribe, but it felt like only yesterday she had been in that safe haven. Now she was crouched in a bush, trying to keep herself from breathing, and terrified for her life. The predator was stalking her, and she had no idea where Taka was.

She started berating herself and asking why she ever left. She had been safe back there, just like she had been safe at the Thunder Clan. This wouldn't be happening if she had just stayed put.

These thoughts were coming to her more frequently, but they always died away a moment later. All she had to do was think of her master. Still, though, she was genuinely afraid that at the rate they were going, she wouldn't live long enough to see her again.

The tiniest little hint of movement caught her eye, and she instinctively looked right at it. The light was fading fast, but that large darkish blob was moving too much to be a rock or a tree. The Mightyena was prowling so close by. If it came any closer, she was sure she'd be able to smell its breath. It was only by hiding in this rather fragrant bush that kept her from being on the receiving end of the same thing.

The Mightyena started walking. It looked like it was moving towards her. Roxy's heart leapt right up her throat and out of her mouth. Had it seen her, or was it just ambling in this direction? Roxy didn't know, but she was anchored to the spot. Fear didn't usually cause her to freeze up anymore, but she was tired after a long day of running and her confidence had been shot since she'd been separated from Taka.

Just five or six days ago, she had been sleeping soundly surrounded by protective Grass-Types.

_No! Stop thinking like that!_

A shiver ran up her spine and she stifled a moan of despair. Whether she liked it or not, this was what she had to get through if she wanted to see her master again. If she had to run and hide from this thing until she was safe to continue, she would do so. If she had to fight it off until it left her alone, she would do so.

If she had to kill it…

Something suddenly wrapped around Roxy's midsection, pinning her forelimbs to her sides. A second something slapped onto her muzzle and covered her mouth before she could scream. She took in a surprised gasp, mostly through her nostrils, and was about to scream anyway. She realized, though, that whatever was grasping her was much too small to be Mightyena paws. This hardly abated her fears, but it did give her pause long enough to turn to the side and see what had assaulted her.

She let out a tremendous sigh of relief when she saw Taka standing there, a stern look on his face. When he saw that she had recognized him, he removed his paw from her muzzle and allowed her to breathe properly once again. Taka had just scared the living daylights out of her, but she understood that he had done it so she didn't scream and give away their position.

A moment later, the two had swiftly made it up to the top branches of a nearby tree. It didn't seem like the Mightyena had noticed their escape, judging by the sounds from below. At the same time, though, it didn't sound like the predator was ready to leave the area just yet. As it was still there, the two of them couldn't make a sound.

Taka motioned for Roxy to lay down on the branch and go to sleep. As usual, he would take the first four hours' watch.

Roxy looked at him like he was insane.

Taka pointed to his own eyes, and then pointed down in the general direction of the Mightyena. Roxy read this as 'I'll be watching him'.

She wanted to retort back and exclaim how impossible it would be for her to get any sleep in a situation like this, but gave up when she figured how hard it would be to say it with sign language. She laid down on the branch and tried to get comfortable, but all she could think about was the deadly creature stalking around down there. How was she supposed to relax?

She stole a quick glance up at Taka. He was already standing hear the tip of the branch, still hidden by the tree's leaves, and looking down vigilantly at the forest floor.

_I'll have to trust him…_

That was what this whole journey boiled down to. Almost everything they would encounter, and everything they would do, would all come back to the same idea. Roxy needed to trust Taka, because without him she would be sunk. Taka would keep a heedful watch, just like he always did. He would wake her up at the first sign of danger. Now was the time to get some sleep, otherwise she'd be too exhausted to face the dangers of tomorrow.

Still, though, how was she _ever_ going to get any sleep at this rate?

* * *

"Keep up."

Roxy cast a weary glance at the other Pikachu that was dashing in front of her. It was not the first time he had stopped to let her catch up. It was not even the tenth or twentieth time.

"I'm tired, Taka," she replied in a bit of a biting tone, "Sorry, not sorry."

Taka just stood there, his forelimbs crossed and one of his hind paws tapping impatiently. Who did he think he was, the White Buneary from _Alice in Wonderland_?

When she finally caught up to him, she was immediately worried that he would just dash off again and the cycle would repeat itself. As she stood there lightly panting, however, Taka remained still. She lifted her head and saw that he was giving her a contemplative gaze. His face was halfway to a scowl, but not quite there yet.

"Fine."

Roxy gave him a confused look. "'Fine' what?"

"We will rest," he said before turning and sauntering off. He walked over to a nearby tree, where he promptly sat down with his back leaning against it. He shot her a look and said, "Though you do realize this means our journey will take longer."

"Wh…" she muttered, looking at him somewhat in disbelief. "What're you talking about? No! I don't wanna stop, let's keep going!"

He arched an eyebrow at her.

Roxy crossed her forelimbs and pouted. "Don't be like this, Taka. You said it yourself. We have a long way to go, so let's go!"

Taka simply continued to look at her, and she wasn't sure if he was upset at her or surprised by what she was saying.

Truth be told, she was a little bit surprised in herself. She _was_ tired enough to be panting and she felt a distinct weakness in her joints that demanded she take a moment and rest. Yet, as soon as Taka sat down and announced his intention to stop their journey, it was like none of that mattered. All signs pointed forward and she quite easily became frustrated that they weren't moving in that direction.

Seeing Taka sitting there and not moving was like an insult to her. It was a travesty. Her master was waiting for her, and here Taka was holding them back! "C'mon! Get up."

"No. You're tired. Sit down."

"Taka, really. I'm fine. I might be a little slower today, but we gotta keep moving right? The less time spent in this forest, the better. Right?"

Yet another silent lack of a response from Taka.

"…What, do _you_ wanna rest?" she asked.

"Absolutely not," he said with a shake of his head.

"Then let's go already!"

He then gave her a confused and irritated look. "You're actually serious right now?" he said, "You do know that I am actually willing to stop and rest just for you, right? That is why I am sitting down right now. I know you assume that I am just going to drag you to your paws the moment you start to relax."

Roxy was quite taken aback. "Taka, what…?" she muttered incomprehensibly.

Taka pinched the bridge of his muzzle. "Just sit down."

"No," she said, starting to get cross.

"Fine then, have it your way!" he said testily as he quickly hopped back up onto his paws, "Do not come whining to me when you are too tired to walk. Or properly defend yourself. It is no fault of mine if you end up getting killed because of this; you will only have your own self to blame."

He started to storm off, prompting Roxy to quickly fall into step behind him. "Taka, what the hell's gotten into you?"

He didn't reply.

"Such a sourpuss, I swear… What, you eat a bad Pomeg for breakfast?"

"You should be thankful that I am making reservations for your…"

She nearly stopped in place just to stare at him. "For my _what_?" she snapped.

"Your…'limitations'."

"Arceus above, Taka…I _am_ thankful for you stopping so we can rest. I just don't need it, and I don't _want_ it. I want to go home, Taka, but I also want to get out of this forest!"

Again with the silent treatment.

"You knew full well of my 'limitations' when you decided to do this, anyway," she quipped irritatedly, "I do my best, y'know."

"Your 'best'…" he grumbled.

"Now what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

The two continued to argue about trivial things for the next ten minutes, though Roxy never really figured out what exactly it was they were fighting about. To her, it just seemed like Taka had woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something. He was _far_ from the friendliest Pokémon she had ever met, but still.

" _I_ have to perform all of the thunder attacks," Taka shot back at her. They were quite a ways further into the forest from where they had been before, but were still taking shots at one another.

"Yeah, I know. What about it?"

Taka sighed in frustration. "Nothing. Forget it."

"You coulda said _that_ like five minutes ago, then we both could've shut up. I had a feeling something like this would happen sooner or later, but ugh…"

Taka turned and gave her a quick glare. "Don't make me leave you here."

"Oh gee, that's nice. Y'know, scientists say that Pichu evolve once they're really happy and friendly. It's a _wonder_ you ever became a Pikachu."

Taka stopped in his tracks, causing Roxy to almost collide with him. He stood there for a moment, staring straight ahead.

"What _now_? Did I offend you or something? Sheesh, you can-"

Her words died on her lips, however, when Taka turned around with the most focused and intense stare on his face. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was looking behind her.

"Run."

"Wh-?"

" _NOW!_ "

She didn't need to be told a third time. Roxy scrambled and started running as fast as she could. She barely slipped past Taka without running him over, and caught a brief glimpse of him tossing his boomerang back before also turning to run.

An exclamation of pain sounded from behind them. It only spurred her to run even faster.

Taka pulled ahead of her, and then Roxy bore witness to an astounding sight. Without even looking back, Taka somehow knew when his boomerang was going to return to him. With perfect timing, he leapt up into the air and twisted his body around into a full spin. As he did, he expertly caught the boomerang, brought it to his mouth so he could bite down on it, and then seamlessly landed on all fours and continued to run. He hadn't slowed down in the slightest.

Her marveling only lasted a couple of seconds before she was reminded that they were being chased. Roxy poured on the steam and pushed herself as hard as she could to keep up with Taka. The two of them dodged trees as they fled, but managed to stay close to one another. When they reached a section where they could run straight for a few uninterrupted seconds, Roxy decided to chance a look over her shoulder.

It was another Ursaring.

A big Ursaring.

A big, big, _big_ Ursaring!

Roxy screamed inside of her own head and forced herself to tear her eyes off of the terrifying sight so she could focus on avoiding trees. That thing was _huge_! It had to be almost twice the height of an average Ursaring. How did it even manage to fit between the trees?!

"This way!" Taka called, signalling a sudden change in direction. Roxy bumped into a tree as she turned, but still managed to keep up.

"What do we do?"

Taka didn't answer. She couldn't see his face, but he seemed like he was trying to think while he ran. Roxy's brain was going into overdrive, mostly with barely contained panic. Taka was fast and she had gotten pretty fast over her time in the forest, but Ursaring could run almost as fast as trains. If it weren't for the dense tree cover, Roxy was sure they would have been caught already.

"Taka!"

"Shut up! I'm thinking!"

She tried to help. She tried her best to think of a solution to this problem, but nothing came to mind. The only thing she could think of was to keep running, and that was a plan that wouldn't last very long. She glanced over her shoulder briefly once more, and saw the ravenous, hungry look on the Ursaring's very angry face. This was a huge problem.

Ursaring could climb trees.

Roxy felt her lungs burn as she pushed herself to dash even faster through the trees. Her heart was hammering in her chest but she couldn't hear it. All she could hear was the heavy, unnerving sound of the Ursaring panting as it gave chase.

Her earlier tiredness meant nothing to her. She ran at full speed, giving all of her available energy to keep her away from the sharp teeth of the predator behind her. Of course, it was up in the air as to how long that would last. One way or another, she knew she was eventually going to collapse.

"There!"

Roxy had been keeping her eyes trained on Taka as she ran, so she could follow his amazingly swift movement between the trees and the bushes. When he shouted, she could see that he was looking off to the side. She figured he must have spotted somewhere they could hide or escape somehow.

Taka made a sharp turn that almost defied physics. Roxy was not quite as graceful, bumping roughly into the side of another tree as she tried to follow suit, but was able to make the turn without slowing down too much. Luck was on their side, as the turn was too sharp for the Ursaring to follow properly, leading it to stumble into some trees.

They continued to run, and Roxy knew it wouldn't be long before the Ursaring was on their tails once more. Her lungs burned like they were filled with fire and her joints ached and begged her for rest, but she just kept on following Taka.

Finally, after a while, she was able to see what Taka had spotted. There was a small but steep hill, or mound of earth. Part of a large hollowed tree trunk was partially embedded into the mound itself, looking as if it fell a very long time ago. The end of the log faced outwards from the hill, looking almost exactly like a pipe sticking out the side of a building. From what she could see, there didn't seem to be any obstructions inside the trunk. If they could both fit inside of it, they would hopefully be safe. It was _much_ too small for the Ursaring to fit inside of.

It took an agonizingly long time to cover the remaining distance to the hill and the log, and Roxy could hear that the Ursaring was close behind once again. If she were to trip at any point, then it would be game over. She just needed to get to that log. Nothing else mattered, not even how exhausted she felt.

"Get in!" was all Taka shouted once they had finally reached the mound. Taka, who was in front, made a decidedly graceful dive towards the log and slid right through the opening as if it had been oiled. He was gone from view in the blink of an eye.

Roxy was only a few steps behind him and tried to follow suit, but was a little less elegant. Instead of doing a dive, which she figured she probably wouldn't be able to do, she made a snap decision to play it safe. She reached the log's opening and crouched down low, then scrambled with her paws to squeeze into the small opening as quickly as she could.

Her body blocked most of the light from entering the log, but just before her vision was blinded, she saw that there was more to this log than meets the eye. It was, in fact, really short. However, it opened up to a surprisingly roomy grotto, as if the log was a doorway. Roxy mentally cheered, spurred on by the fact that this would provide them even more safety, and quickly pawed at the ground to pull herself the rest of the way in.

"Yaaaagh!"

Roxy screamed as a bolt of pain ran right up her spine. A fraction of a second later, she started to move backwards out of the log. Judging by where the excruciating pain was coming from, Roxy figured what was happening, and it made her blood run cold.

The Ursaring had reached into the log with its claw and grabbed a hold of her tail. Now, it was trying to drag her back out.

Taka immediately dove forward and grabbed both of her paws. He tried to pull her into the grotto, but only succeeded in halting her progress in either direction. She couldn't see his face, but from the way he was breathing she imagined him to be struggling.

It was hard to imagine anything, though. The pain in her tail and her lower back was agonising. With Taka now on the other end, the Ursaring started to tug even harder. It felt like her whole tail was going to be ripped right off of her body.

Tears streamed from her eyes as she cried out in both pain and panic once more. She tried to dig at the ground with her hind paws while Taka continued to keep pulling, but it was still a stalemate. That is, until she started sliding a few inches backwards.

"Let go of me!" Her loud plea escaped her muzzle before she even thought about what she was doing. "Stop it! Please!"

The Ursaring was continuing to slowly pull her out of the log. Its claws were digging painfully into her tail. Taka was holding on as much as he could, but his paws were sliding along the ground too as they fought this losing battle.

"Taka!" she exclaimed, "Don't let me go! Please don't let me go!"

Too focused to answer, Taka only growled in determination. Roxy could feel it, though. His grip was slipping. Slowly but surely, Roxy was sliding back into the open maw of the Ursaring. She was a few seconds away from being dinner.

The only upside was that the pain was so unbearable, she felt like she was going to black out before that happened.

"Roxy!"

Her eyes snapped back open, even though she couldn't see very much. Taka sounded like he could barely get the words out.

"On three…Shock!"

The Ursaring's grip on her tail was just as strong, as was the pain, but she grit her teeth and nodded. It looked like this was her only option, so she had to take it. As she closed her eyes and tried to build up as much electricity as she could, she braced herself for what was about to come.

This was going to hurt.

"One…Two…"

The Ursaring growled outside. Could he hear what they were saying? "Give…up…" he growled in a low voice.

"Three!"

Roxy unleashed the most powerful Thunder Jolt she could manage. It wasn't much, but it would do a little more damage because the Ursaring was in direct contact with her.

That didn't matter, though, because a split second later Roxy cried out once again as Taka's _much_ more powerful electricity shot through her body. It felt like she had been tossed into a pit of fire and it made her whole body hurt and feel weird. She was an Electric-type Pokémon, but it still hurt a lot! That was just how powerful Taka's electricity was.

She was already being used as a tug-o-war rope, so why not use herself as a conduit too?

Taka's plan seemed to work, because the Ursaring let out a loud, stuttering yelp as their combined electricity reached his own body. Taka didn't waste any time. As soon as he heard the yelp, he dug his hind paws into the ground and started to pull even harder. Now, on top of everything else, it felt like her forelimbs were going to be ripped out of their sockets as well. Roxy let out another agonizing cry.

Then, after far too many stressful seconds, something finally gave. Roxy's eyes bugged out of her head and she let out an ear piercing scream as she was sent hurtling into the tiny cave by all of the built-up momentum. She tumbled all the way to the back wall, where she collapsed in a heap.

Roxy inched open one of her eyes, and found she was facing towards the cave's log opening, but everything was blurry. Her pain receptors were off the charts. It felt like her whole body was in agony, even though she knew it was focused on her lower back and especially on her tail.

Through her fuzzy vision, she saw a large claw reach into the cave and desperately grasp around. Taka, who Roxy could see now thanks to the light streaming in from the small hole, wasted no time in stabbing the paw with his spear. Roxy heard the Ursaring cry out in pain.

Taka shouted something, and the Ursaring shouted something back. Her head was swimming too much, trying to deal with the hurt, to understand what they said. Taka sounded angry and defiant. He was still shoving his spear into the log opening, no doubt stabbing at the paw that kept trying to reach them. Sparks danced from Taka's cheeks as he shouted something else, briefly lighting up the cave.

Then, the Ursaring said one more thing in a relatively low voice, and she heard the loud steps that signified he was walking away. When silence reigned a few seconds later, she dared to believe that they had finally been left alone.

Once Taka was sure their pursuers had truly left, he quickly rushed over to Roxy's side. Roxy had been moaning and groaning in pure agony the whole time. He grasped her firmly with his paws and rolled her over so that she was on her side.

"Roxy, I'm here. Stay calm," he said in an uncharacteristically fast-paced voice, "Try to stay awake."

He gave her a quick once-over, swearing under his breath the whole time. Roxy barely had the strength to move. Pain clouded over everything else. She grit her teeth and tried to focus on her breathing, but it didn't help much. Roxy had never felt anything hurt this bad in her whole life, and she had once broken her leg. She was pretty sure that damp, warm feeling all over her hind paws and her lower half was blood.

"Tell me your name."

Roxy groaned in confusion at the strange question.

"Come on. Tell me what your name is."

"R…Roxy…" she slurred.

"Okay, and what is my name?"

"…Taka…"

"Okay…" He let out a quick breath of air. "Just stay still. Do not try to sit up."

Roxy's whole face twisted up in pain and she let out a loud cry of torture. It just hurt too much. She tried to move her paws back so she could hold it.

"Hey!" Taka said, pushing her paws back, "I said don't move."

"Taka…?"

"Just relax," he said, in a tone that would not help anybody relax, "Let me help."

Roxy just whined and let her forepaws fall limply to the ground. She laid there, enduring the thousand nails of pain being shoved into various parts of her body. Her head was pounding and her tail was throbbing like crazy.

Taka started doing some stuff, but she couldn't really pay attention. "T-Taka…?" she muttered, sounding like a frightened cub. Even in her current state, she grimaced at how vulnerable she sounded.

"He got you really good…" Taka bemoaned.

She just sat there for a couple of minutes, her eyes clenched shut as she took in quick breaths through her gritted teeth. The world was spinning around her and she really, really felt like she was going to vomit. She managed to keep the contents of her stomach inside of her, though. She simply focused on the pain, because there wasn't much else to focus on.

"Aah!" She yelped when Taka grabbed onto her tail, making everything feel even worse.

"Sorry," he immediately apologized, "I need to do this, though. You are just going to have to endure it."

Roxy started to cry. She couldn't help it. The way she figured, even the strongest and toughest Pokémon would start to cry when given the right amount of pain and suffering. She didn't think Taka would blame her, and she didn't care if he did anyway. Her sobs came out as pathetic whines, and she writhed in agony. Every so often, she would let out another sharp yelp as Taka touched her tail.

After some nebulous amount of time, Roxy managed to wrench open her eyes. The pain was still astronomical, but she managed to focus her vision enough so she could see properly. The log that formed the entrance of this tiny grotto functioned as a funnel for the light, casting a bright enough beam that she could see Taka while also cloaking much of him in long shadows. He was moving back and forth, and every time he disappeared from view to her left she would let out another shrill yelp.

Something else caught her eye, and it took her a minute to work through the torture to understand what she was looking at. Strewn all over the cave floor were berries and small leaves. Taka reappeared in her field of vision once more, and he picked up about five of the leaves off the ground before disappearing once more.

"Taka…?" she murmured.

"Stay calm."

Why were there leaves and berries everywhere? Where did they come from? Confusion was not helpful for her overly-addled brain right now, so she sought out the answer. She found it lying off to the side. After a moment's observation, she realized that it was Taka's satchel.

Or, at least, what was left of Taka's satchel.

"What're you doing…?" she spoke up once more.

Taka returned to grab a few more of them. "The leaves we use to weave these satchels," he explained, "also have medicinal properties. We just hardly use them in the tribe, since we had Miri." He disappeared off to her left once more, but continued talking. "If you apply enough of them, they dull the pain and help the wound close up faster."

"R…Really…?"

Now that she thought about it, she did realize that she didn't quite feel as much pain. It still hurt way worse than when she had broken her leg, but it had at least abated enough to let her focus.

Another yelp escaped her maw, and this time she twitched involuntarily. Taka kept touching her tail, right on the part that was hurting. She decided to crane her neck over so she could see what he was doing. Unfortunately, her awkward position on the ground didn't let her see very much. She could just barely see him in the corner of her vision where things started to get fuzzy. He was crouching down, holding her tail, and sticking the leaves onto it.

"Ow!" she squealed as he stuck another one on. She couldn't really see very well, but it looked like he was covering the wound with leaves like one would do so with a bandage. She wondered how he was getting them to stay, but got her answer a moment later when Taka gave one of the leaves a long lick.

"Stop that," he instructed her, "You will hurt your neck. Just relax until I finish."

"O-okay…" She heeded his instructions and returned her head to a more natural position. She closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh. There were still tears streaming from her eyes, and she continued to twitch and yelp every time he touched her tender tail.

"H-how bad is it…?" she asked.

Taka simply focused on applying more of the leaves, leaving her to yip once more. The two lapsed into relative silence for a short while. Roxy ended up lying her head down in front of her, gazing blankly at the parts of the cavern she could see. She whined and whimpered as time went on, but she didn't even try to stop herself.

The satchel was completely dismantled by this point. More than half had been torn off the bottom, leaving only the 'strap' and a little bit left on the top. At first she got a fright as she wondered just how big the wound had to be if he needed that many leaves, but she calmed down when she realized that it wasn't about covering the wound, but how many leaves were necessary to give her the full medicinal treatment. Taka was probably applying multiple layers.

"How do they taste…?" she asked in a weak tone. She was actually starting to feel better. The pain was receding and wasn't quite as dizzying anymore.

"Horrible," Taka replied dryly.

A soft giggle actually managed to bubble up from within her. Roxy found that she could actually breathe properly now, and took in a deep breath followed by a long sigh. The agony was dulling bit by bit, becoming ever so surely more tolerable. She was pleasantly surprised. These magic leaves were actually working.

"You took apart your whole bag…" she observed.

"Necessary," he commented, "We will have to make do with only one for the rest of the way."

"Oh gosh…Are you sure? Is that gonna be enough food…?"

Taka paused while he was in her line of sight and gave her a look. "My two choices were to cut our food supply in half, or let you bleed to death." Without another word, he got back to his work.

Roxy shivered upon hearing that sobering thought.

Before long, Roxy found that she was no longer twitching or making any noise when he touched her tail. The horrible pain had regressed down to a dull ache. She could vaguely feel her tail throbbing, a similar feeling to stubbing her toe, but it was definitely within the realms of bearable.

Taka wiped the sweat from his brow once he was finally finished with his work. "Right," he said as he stepped closer to her upper half and grasped her forepaws, "Sit up. Come on, now."

Roxy allowed herself to be pulled up into a sitting position, and ended up with her back resting against the 'wall' of the grotto. She let out a big sigh of relief. That had been more pain than she had ever imagined she would ever go through, and she was surprised and relieved that she was able to get through it.

"Here," Taka said as he gave her a Sitrus Berry, "You did lose some blood, so eat this."

Roxy gulped and tried to shove the image of her own blood on the floor out of her head. "Right…" she said, and took the berry.

Taka too let out a sigh of relief, and sat down on the floor nearby. While she ate the berry, she noticed him looking at all the fruit strewn on the floor. There was a tiny pang of guilt as Roxy realized this was all food they would have to leave behind.

Once the last bite of the berry was down in her stomach, Roxy mentally steeled herself. It was time to get it over with. She took a few calming breaths, and tried to relax herself as best she could. She then reached back and gently grabbed her tail, bringing it in front of her so she could see it.

"…Ohh…My tail…"

The forlorn tone of her voice seemed to be amplified by the cave, reflecting the feeling she felt as she looked at what was left of her tail. The pretty little heart shape at the end was gone; completely torn off. All that remained was an unsightly jagged shape, like a piece of torn paper or a broken cracker. Nothing below the topmost 'curve' in her tail had been lost, but her most distinctive natural feature as a female Pikachu was simply gone now.

All along the torn edge were the leaves that Taka had pasted on, and it seemed like they were staying in place rather well. It almost looked like the end of her tail had been dipped in green paint. There was no blood to be seen, no wound visible under the leaves, but the fur on the rest of her tail was tinted red ever so slightly.

"Roxy…"

She turned to look at Taka. He was giving her a hard look, but also seemed like he was at a loss as to what to say.

"Am I gonna be okay?" she asked.

He glanced at her tail briefly. "Most likely," he commented, "Like I said before, these leaves help the wound to close up faster. In a couple of days we can take them off and the open wound will be gone. It might ache a bit for a few more days…" He trailed off for a moment. "The rest of your tail, though…"

Roxy realized she had been staring at her mangled tail for a while now and forced herself to tear her eyes away.

"I know you are probably very upset," Taka continued to say, "but you must remain calm. You know as well as I do what dangers lurk in these woods. Relatively speaking, something like this is-"

"So, Taka," she interrupted him as she gazed around the cave, "What…is our plan now? Am I okay to keep going, or should we stay here for a bit? Are we safe in here?"

"…What?"

"If I'm not at risk for getting a bad infection, or whatever, then we should probably keep moving. That Ursaring might come back, right?"

She continued to consider their current situation for a few more moments. When she realized that Taka wasn't answering, she looked over at him to find him giving her a look that she dared to call 'flabbergasted'. "What?" she asked.

"Ah…Nothing," Taka murmured.

Roxy furrowed her brow. "What? Seriously, what?"

Taka gave her a scrutinizing gaze for a moment before answering. "I…am just a touch surprised, that is all. I did not quite expect this…reaction."

"What 'reaction'?"

"Given how you have responded in the past towards…certain troubling situations…"

Roxy blinked as she finally realized what he meant. "You're surprised because I'm not bawling my eyes out…"

Taka didn't answer, but he didn't deny the statement either.

Shaking her head, Roxy let out a sigh. "I mean…It sucks. It really sucks, Taka. I'm certainly not happy about it. I didn't wanna lose a third of my tail, and yeah it's gonna make me upset for a while." She then folded her forelimbs. "But I can still keep going. A torn tail isn't going to stop this journey or force me to turn around. That's all I care about, Taka. I want to go home." She closed her eyes and let out another soft sigh. "If going home…If seeing master again means some jerk has to yank my tail off, then whatever…"

"…Ah," was all Taka had to say.

Roxy gave him a smirk.

He then cleared his throat. "Well, to answer your question, we should not stay in here. There is only one way out, after all. However, we should find a tree to stay in for the rest of the day…just in case your injury worsens somehow."

She had no reason to argue. The two then spent the next few minutes picking up berries and trying to fit as many as they could into Roxy's satchel, which Taka then took to wear himself. Then, Taka exited the grotto and scouted the surroundings briefly. He came back a couple of minutes later, indicating that he saw no danger, and Roxy scurried out after him.

Not long afterwards, they had found a large and secure tree and were up in its branches. Roxy was already pretty worn out from what they had gone through today, and so was silently thankful that Taka had elected to take the rest of the day off.

She slumped down onto a branch, letting her tail hang down below her. There was a tiny pang in her heart, which she felt every single time she thought of her tail. Roxy knew she would probably get more little pangs for quite a long while, but that's all they were. It was something bad that had happened, and she had escaped with her life and her more important limbs intact. She chose to see this as a blessing.

After some quiet time, Roxy idly glanced over at Taka who was leaning against the trunk like he usually did.

He met her gaze. "Are you sure you are all right?" he asked.

Roxy smiled and nodded. "I'll be fine. I can cry about it when I get home."

Taka then averted his gaze, a troubled look on his face. "I…am sorry this had to happen to you…"

"What d'you mean?"

"It was my fault that the Ursaring was alerted to our presence. I was being…far too loud."

"Oh, don't be stupid," Roxy replied with a reassuring smile, "I was making just as much noise as you were."

Taka sighed.

"Don't…make this all your fault, okay?" Roxy said as her smile faltered a little, "I'm not gonna, like, hold you responsible for mangling my tail up. Just forget it. Your job is to help he escape this forest, and I trust that you're gonna keep doing that. Right?"

Finally, he returned his gaze to her. "Yes," he replied with a nod, "Of course."

"I don't even remember what we were arguing about, so let's just forget it."

"That is fine with me."

A moment of silence passed between them before Roxy spoke up again. "Are you…okay, though?" she asked, mirroring his initial question to her.

"What do you mean?"

Roxy chuckled to herself at the symmetry. "I dunno," she said, "It just seemed like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something today. Is something bugging you?"

Taka lowered his gaze, crossed his forepaws, and turned his head away again. At first, Roxy took this as a sign that he didn't want to elaborate and that their conversation was now over. Shrugging to herself, she laid her head down on her forepaws and tried to relax.

"…I was thinking about Izuki."

She lifted her head back up and gave him a sympathetic frown. "Oh, really…?"

Taka nodded, though his eyes were drawn to the horizon. "Hiding in a tree in the middle of the night while a predator lurked below…It reminded me of how we first met."

"Oh… Yeah, I remember you said that you rescued him."

"Izuki had not been on my mind so…relentlessly for a great many moons…" He sighed, almost sounding defeated. "It caught me off guard."

Roxy bit her lip. "I hope we're not digging up old wounds by doing this…"

Taka half-chuckled. "Well…That, I believe, is unavoidable. I knew this before we departed, though."

Roxy then opened her mouth to say something else, but closed it and second-guessed herself. She wasn't sure if it was a very tactful thing to say or not. In the end, though, her curiosity won her over. "They said…you were very different when you came home. You were more quiet and secluded."

She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him grumble something under his breath.

Quickly, she backpedaled. "Never mind. I was just going to say that maybe it's a good thing to get out here and do this. Y'know, face your demons and all that…?"

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, Taka replied in a flat voice, "Perhaps."

A light breeze rustled through the leaves and the branches of the nearby trees. Its gentle sound only served to further highlight the complete silence that could otherwise be heard. Neither of them had anything more to say on the subject, or so it seemed to Roxy at least. For a short while, neither of them even looked at each other.

"Hey, uh…You never told me how you lost part of your ears," she said. She hoped to clear away some of the uncomfortableness with a topic change.

"Ah…" Taka said with a shrug, "I don't remember. Just some fight with some predator. I hardly even noticed when they got torn off. I cannot even remember if I lost them both at the same time or not."

"Really? Wow…" Roxy said, and then turned over her shoulder to regard her hanging tail, "I think I'm gonna remember this one forever…"

After another pregnant pause, Taka spoke up. "I am sorry for losing my temper today."

Roxy lifted her head and glanced back at him. She gave him a friendly smile and said, "Don't worry about it."

"I snapped at you when there was no reason to," he continued, "We are in this together, from start to end. We will either succeed together, or fail together, and I should have known better."

"Taka, stop it. It's fine, okay? The danger's gone for now, and we can move on tomorrow!"

He scrutinized her for a moment. "My, your newfound optimism is…surprising."

Now it was Roxy's turn to shrug. "This is worth fighting for…"

Taka nodded. "That is a good attitude to take." After one more moment of silence, he glanced down at her tail. "Keep those leaves from falling off, at least until the sun rises tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Does it still hurt?"

She frowned. "It throbs…Like a bruise."

"That will pass. Just tell me if it gets worse, and try not to touch it."

Roxy nodded at him. A few moments passed, and then she smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you for taking care of me today."

Taka closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk even more. "No need to mention it…"

Smiling to herself and sighing, Roxy then laid her head down on her forepaws and closed her eyes. It wasn't time to sleep yet, but she was just trying to relax and remain totally calm. Today had presented her with a very daunting obstacle, and here she was on the other side of it. Her rational side figured that she should be upset, terrified or even traumatized.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. Roxy felt like she was more revved up to go than ever before.


	28. Trust Issues

"Is this one tall enough?"  
  
"It should be. Hurry up."  
  
Roxy nimbly hopped up the branches of the large tree, trusting Taka's word that it would be tall enough. She kept up, never more than one branch behind him, as this was something she considered herself adept at. She climbed the branches like they were simple stairs. Her tail carefully curled around each one to give her balance, making her thankful that she could still use it despite missing a quarter of it.  
  
Her heart was pumping, but it wasn't because of the exercise she was enduring. There was a fluttery sensation in the pit of her stomach. She felt excited and eager, but also nervous and uneasy. She didn't know what they would see from the top of the tree. She was _hoping_ to see something. In fact, she was betting that she would see it, and that was why she was so excited. There was a perfectly good chance they wouldn't see it, though, which was why she was so nervous.  
  
Taka reached the highest sturdy branch on the tree, and Roxy joined him a moment later. True to his word, this particular tree rose a couple of metres above the ones surrounding it. This gave them a fairly unobstructed view of the forest around them, and allowed them to see the distant horizons. Roxy made sure she was safely balanced, and then looked out at the great, wide vista.  
  
Her heart fell. Her ears and tail drooped as a heavy feeling of disappointment filled her.  
  
It was a beautiful sight. No matter how horrible her experience in the forest had been, Roxy had never called it anything but beautiful when it came to just looking at it. The fantastic landscape of endless trees, blocking the view of even a single patch of the ground below, spread out among the mountains to the sides and to the distant horizon. The sun was setting. The glowing orb was about halfway below the horizon, casting a wondrous array of colours into the sky that painted the many clouds in an awe-inspiring kaleidoscope. It was a beautiful sight.  
  
But that was all she could see. Nothing else.  
  
"I was…so sure…" she murmured.  
  
"I told you," Taka said with a shrug.  
  
"What the hell _is_ this forest? Have we been going in circles or something?"  
  
"Absolutely not. We have been making a perfectly straight line towards our destination this entire time."  
  
Roxy let out a pained whimper, feeling herself deflate. They had spent days and days traipsing through this forest, making nearly non-stop progress. However, even after all this time, they still couldn't see anything more than trees on the horizon.  
  
Where was the city?  
  
 _You're never going to make it,_ was the first thought in her head, compliments of her treacherous anxiety. She shook that thought away, but found it a little difficult to replace it with something positive. She had traveled much farther than she thought herself capable of, and they still had to _at least_ reach the horizon that they could see from where they were.  
  
Roxy was about to say something about the matter, but was interrupted when a raindrop landed right on the bridge of her muzzle.  
  
"Great…" she deadpanned. A moment later, the rain started.  
  
Since they were on top of a tree, the two were quite drenched within seconds. Roxy turned and gave Taka a somewhat forlorn look. She couldn't help it. The rainfall was just the cherry on top of this horrible sundae, and all it did was sap all of her motivation away.  
  
"Consider yourself lucky this is the first big rainfall we have encountered on this journey, considering the time of year," Taka informed her as he began to carefully climb down.  
  
Roxy followed him, taking care not to slip. She wanted to complain about the rain, but she didn't. She had gotten used to it after being forced to spend so much time in it, but she still disliked it. Roxy was thankful that it was the end of the day, meaning they wouldn't have to do any traveling in the rain.  
  
A moment later, her heart sank yet again as she realized this meant they would have to _sleep_ in the rain. She couldn't help but let a groan of protest escape her throat. At least back at the village she'd been able to sleep in a hut. Out here, though?  
  
Taka climbed down until he was standing on what Roxy guessed was the fifth branch up from the ground. With such a big tree, and so many branches and leaves above them, not as much rain was getting to them. However, what did manage to reach them ended up as rather large, heavy drops due to being concentrated by the leaves on the way down.  
  
"Here," Taka said with a motion of his paws, "Sleep right up against the tree trunk. You will be driest there."  
  
"I hate camping…" Roxy grumbled.  
  
"…What?"  
  
"Nothing…"  
  
Roxy sullenly made her way over to where Taka was indicating and snuggled herself right up against the tree's trunk. She curled up into a ball, or as much as she could while maintaining her balance, but she still didn't feel comfortable. Her fur was damp and she could feel occasional wetness dropping onto her.  
  
"How do Pokémon do this…?" she wondered aloud.  
  
"What? Sleeping in the rain? Just ignore it."  
  
Roxy opened her eyes just to give him a flat look.  
  
"Lighten up, would you?" he said, "We made excellent progress today."  
  
"Well, how much progress do we have to make before we can see the city on the horizon?"  
  
Taka shook his head. "I do not know. Remember, I was not traveling in a straight path when I journeyed there."  
  
"Ugh…"  
  
"Seriously, stop your complaining." Taka paused for a few seconds, and then added, "You should be proud of yourself."  
  
"Why…?" she asked, though she kept her eyes closed.  
  
"I never would have thought to use your collar like that…"  
  
Roxy sat there silently for a moment, and thought back to earlier in the day. They had come across a Mightyena directly in their path. Though it hadn't seen them, it had been headed directly towards them. Unable to get away in time or properly hide, Taka was getting ready to fight it. Roxy, however, had come upon the idea of using the tag on her collar to reflect the sunlight. She did this, causing a point of light to appear on a tree off to the side, which caught the Mightyena's attention and made it deviate from its path. Roxy and Taka had successfully snuck away soon after.  
  
A half-smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks…" She then giggled softly. "It's still weird hearing praise from you…"  
  
He shook his head. "Well…" he said in a thoughtful tone, "I suppose I am just starting to realize that you…" He paused. "You are very resourceful. I am finding more and more that you are more capable than I give you credit for…"  
  
"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me…Thank you, Taka."  
  
"Mm."  
  
Roxy chuckled to herself. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. I'd still be nowhere without you there to guide me."  
  
"Now this, I cannot deny."  
  
At this, Roxy blew a Razz Berry and rolled her eyes. "Goodnight, Taka," she deadpanned, but there was a little smile on her lips as she did.  
  
A few moments of silence passed, with the only sound being the constant drone of the rain. Roxy tried to focus on it and let it lull her to sleep. She had always been a fan of the _sound_ of rain, regardless of how she felt about the rain itself.  
  
After quite a few minutes of just feeling plain uncomfortable, she let out a frustrated sigh.  
  
It was going to be a long night…  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It had rained all night.  
  
Luckily, by the grace of Arceus above, Roxy had managed to get to sleep. What's more, she had somehow woken up without being completely drenched from head to tail. However, her good fortune had ended once it was time for her to wake up and stand guard while Taka slept. When she was out on the branch and not right up against the trunk, that is when the rain had truly assaulted her.  
  
The rain had mercifully stopped once the sun had risen. The two had set off, and now it was the afternoon as they continued their seemingly-endless trek. Roxy was trying her best to keep her spirits up.  
  
She felt her stomach growl. It wasn't loud enough to actually be heard, but she could definitely feel it. Taka had only given her a measly Cheri Berry for breakfast. They had been having a surprisingly hard time finding berry bushes bearing fruit ever since the loss of their second satchel.  
  
Roxy glanced behind at her tail. The leaves were all gone now, all of them completely unsuitable for making a new satchel. The wound still looked fresh and tender, but it had closed up nicely. At a glance, it looked like she simply had a weirdly misshapen tail.  
  
'You're not weird, you're unique.' That's what her master would say, and so she chose to believe it.  
  
The point was that Taka's satchel only had a few more berries in it. Unless they found more, one at breakfast was all she was going to get. This, coupled with her 4-hour sleep schedule, was really taking a toll on her endurance. At this point, her main motivation for getting out of the forest was so she could stop this ceaseless marathon.  
  
The ground was a little muddy, thanks to the downpour last night. The grass they ran through was covered in dew; pretty to look at, but also very slippery. Even Taka was running at a slightly slower pace so that he didn't lose traction with the ground.  
  
The two then came across a large fallen tree that was blocking their path. Taka slowed down so he could climb over it.  
  
"That was some heavy rain, huh?" Roxy said, in one of her usually-fruitless attempts at a passing conversation. As she scrambled up on top of the fallen tree, Taka was already on the ground on the other side.  
  
"I am surprised it ended so quickly," he commented back, "It is spring. The forest usually gets long, extended periods of rain during this time."  
  
"Aw sheesh, don't say that!" Roxy half-whined as she landed next to him, "You're totally gonna jinx it!!"  
  
This was met with a classic, raised eyebrow, slightly irritated and very perplexed look from Taka. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You said it ended so quickly. That's, like, an invitation for the universe to point and laugh at you by making it rain again." Roxy then turned her gaze up to the sky, expecting it to start raining within seconds. It did not, but there were still heavy rainclouds above them.  
  
Taka merely shook his head in exasperation and darted off, with Roxy close behind him.  
  
Two hours later, it was raining.  
  
It hadn't come quite as quickly as she had expected it, but there it was. It was taking all of Roxy's self-control to keep from saying "I told you so!" a thousand times a minute.  
  
Running through the rain was quite an unpleasant experience. At this point, slipping and sliding were pretty much expected. Both of them took quite a few minor tumbles, but neither managed to hurt themselves. The grass was damp and the dirt was muddy. The good thing about the rain was that it masked the sounds they made, making it harder for foes to notice them. That paled in comparison, though, to all of the troubles and downright unpleasantness that came with the experience.  
  
Roxy was grumpy.  
  
It wasn't too long before Roxy found herself stuck in the mud. It wasn't a dire situation, thankfully. Simply one of her hind paws had sunk in the mud, forcing her to completely stop running so she could extract herself. Somewhat to her surprise, Taka came back to help her out.  
  
"Ugh…" she complained, "This is why humans invented 'indoors'…"  
  
"Be thankful it was not much worse."  
  
"I know, Taka… I'm not gonna let it get to me, but nothing in this world's gonna stop me from complaining about this stupid, nasty, dumb rain…"  
  
"Joy…" Taka muttered.  
  
Once Roxy's paw was free, she took a moment to shake the excess mud off of it. Then, she got down on all fours and shook herself to rid her fur of the water that had gathered there. It didn't end up doing very much.  
  
"Come," Taka instructed, "We should be moving."  
  
"Huh…" Roxy said distractedly, "I never really paid attention to it before. It's crazy to see that paint stay on your fur when you're getting soaked in the rain…"  
  
Taka gave her an odd look. "You have _bathed_ since getting your marks."  
  
"I know, I know…I never really noticed it though. Wild Pokémon creating waterproof paint…What a fascinating world…"  
  
She raised her paws up and wiped away the water from her eyes, as it was starting to cloud her vision. She was prepared to continue running once she was done that, but something made her pause. When she lowered her paws, she gazed intently off into the distance.  
  
"…Are we going?!" Taka snapped.  
  
"Shh!!"  
  
Taka thankfully heeded her request and fell silent. Roxy tried to listen for what she had heard, but could only hear the rain. She started to wonder if she had just imagined it.  
  
Roxy's ear twitched. There it was! She turned her head in the appropriate direction so she could hear it better. To her relief, Taka turned his head in the same direction at the same time. It looked like he had heard it as well.  
  
"…Hello…?"  
  
It was a female voice, though it was very faint and only barely perceptible through the sound of the rain. Roxy turned to Taka and said, "You hear that, right?"  
  
"Mm," he said with a nod.  
  
"You don't think that's a predator, do you? They don't usually say 'Hello'…" Roxy said. Taka didn't answer her, so she focused again on the voice. It was about twenty seconds before she heard it again.  
  
"…Help…"  
  
Roxy turned to look at Taka once more. "Someone's calling out for help!" she said, just in case he hadn't heard the word.  
  
Taka gave her a quick, silent look. Then, as if it were a practised stage direction, both took off running at the same time towards the distant voice. They ran almost side by side, heading in the direction that they had been facing.  Roxy's heart raced as she ran. If someone was in trouble, that could mean they were stuck under a tree or something benign like that.  
  
Or, it could mean they were running away from a giant Lycanroc or something.  
  
After a bit of running, Roxy realized that they wouldn't be able to hear the voice again unless they stopped running. She decided to slow down just a bit and follow Taka's lead, since he had a much better sense of direction than she did. For a couple more minutes, it was like business as usual as they ran through the forest, only in a different direction.  
  
"Wait, Roxy! Stop!"  
  
Roxy slammed on the brakes, and ended up slipping in some damp grass and ending up flat on her back. She groaned in pain as she stood herself back up. "Ow…What was that for?"  
  
"Look," Taka said, pointing ahead of them, "You could have fallen right in."  
  
Confused, Roxy followed where he was pointing. Her eyes shot open wide when she saw what the two of them had almost run straight into. It was essentially a great big hole in the ground. The opening in the forest floor did not have a very large diameter, but even from a distance Roxy could tell that it went down deep. It was a deep sinkhole in the middle of the forest, likely caused by an underground grotto having its roof fall in. It looked almost like a naturally-made well.  
  
"Aw, yeesh…Thanks, Taka. I didn't even see it," she said to him.  
  
"Be careful as you go around it. The mud is slippery."  
  
"Right," she said with a nod, "Got it."  
  
Roxy took one more moment to shake the water off of her fur, and then was ready to keep going. Before either of them could take a step, though, the voice called out again.  
  
"Hello? Is somebody up there?"  
  
Both of them paused and gave each other a surprised look. The voice was no longer faint, and wasn't coming from in the distance anymore. The two Pikachu slowly turned their gazes towards the hole in the ground, where the source of the voice now laid.  
  
"I know someone is up there! I can smell you!"  
  
Roxy turned and gave a surprised look to Taka, as if she'd been caught in the cookie jar. Taka shrugged calmly and began to make his way to the edge of the hole. Roxy followed behind, taking extra care not to slip and fall. The two of them reached the edge and carefully peered downwards.  
  
"Ah! Hello up there! Thank heavens someone finally came!"  
  
Sitting at the bottom of the hole, which really did look a lot like a well, was a single Vulpix. She looked to be fairly average sized, which was to say about twice their size. She was covered in mud and dirt, her fur was all messed up, and she was sitting in about a foot of muddy water. Aside from this, though, she didn't seem any worse for wear.  
  
"Uhh…" Roxy said, not sure how to address the situation, "Hello?"  
  
She smiled warmly. "Hello! You have no idea how happy I am to see you!" She put a paw up to her muzzle and giggled. "As you can see, I am in a bit of trouble."  
  
Roxy had guessed that right from the start. She estimated that the hole was at least six feet deep, and probably more. The inside edges of the hole were completely vertical, offering no way to climb up or down.  "What happened?" she asked.  
  
The Vulpix glanced away somewhat bashfully. "It was raining, and I got careless. I had not even seen the hole because there were tree branches covering it. I slipped and fell down here. Luckily I am not hurt, but I cannot get out."  
  
"You can just dig out, can't you?" Taka said in a flat tone.  
  
She shook her head. "It has been raining all night, so the ground is all muddy. If I started digging through here, I would just end up trapped."  
  
Roxy shook her head in disbelief. "'All night'? How long have you been down there?"  
  
"Goodness, I suppose a full cycle of the sun at this point…"  
  
"What?" Roxy gasped, "You must be starving."  
  
The Vulpix nodded, and then said, "No-one else has been around. You are the first two that found me, so… I would be very, very grateful if you could help me get out."  
  
"But, what about your tribe?" Roxy asked, "Don't they know you're missing?"  
  
"They likely do, but I have wandered far past our borders. I am no longer on my tribe's territory, so they would have no reason to look for me here…" After a pause, she added in a sad tone, "They would have no reason to even venture out this way…"  
  
Roxy frowned. Her heart went out to the poor thing. Falling and getting stuck down a hole wasn't one of the many nightmares she had imagined the forest could throw at her, but that didn't make it any less of an ordeal for the Vulpix. Roxy couldn't even imagine how freaked out she would be if she were trapped down in that hole.  
  
"Well, just hang on," she called down, "We'll figure someth-"  
  
Her words died on her tongue when she turned to look at Taka, only to find that Taka was no longer there. She quickly glanced around in all directions, feeling befuddled, until she spotted him walking away through the trees.  
  
"Taka?" she said as she got to her paws and chased after him, "Taka! Where're you going?"  
  
Taka paused and turned back to her. "What?" he asked with a slightly perplexed expression.  
  
"What're you doing?"  
  
He blinked, looking quite surprised at the question being directed at him. "…Leaving," he stated simply.  
  
"What d'you mean? Aren't we gonna help her?"  
  
"…No!" he replied, looking taken aback.  
  
"What??" Roxy blurted out in disbelief, "But she's in trouble!"  
  
Taka stared at her for a moment, then brought a paw up to his forehead and shook his head a few times. "Heavens above…" he muttered to himself before turning his stern gaze back on her. "You saw what kind of Pokémon she was, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Roxy said while nodding, "A Vulpix."  
  
Taka stood there with his forelimbs crossed, not saying anything.  
  
"…What?!"  
  
"Do I _really_ have to spell this out for you? For heaven's sake, that is a _predator down there!!_ "  
  
"I…I know, that…" Roxy spoke, lowering her voice. She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the hole and said, "But still…"  
  
"Still _what_?"  
  
Roxy turned and gave him an imploring look. "We can't just leave her down there…!"  
  
"Why not?" Taka retorted, "She is down there, away from us, so she cannot cause us trouble. Why are we even _having_ this conversation?"  
  
"She might starve down there…"  
  
Taka scoffed. "She will be able to dig herself out as soon as it stops raining and the ground dries out. She will probably go hungry, but she will be fine. And if we do not get far enough away, th-"  
  
"But what if it keeps raining?" Roxy interjected, "It's springtime, right? Didn't you tell me that the forest gets a _ton_ of rain in the spring?"  
  
"It does, but-"  
  
"And what if the hole floods up? She might drown!"  
  
Taka gave her an exasperated look. "Roxy…"  
  
She shook her head and put on a determined expression. "Taka, I know predators are our enemies, but if we leave her here then that might be just as good as…k-killing her… She's a predator, sure, but she doesn't deserve _this_. No-one does."  
  
Now Taka put his forelimbs on his hips and stared down at her, taking full advantage of his superior height over her. "Roxy," he stated firmly and crossly, "Just what exactly do you think is going to happen once we _do_ rescue her?"  
  
"Well, I-"  
  
"She is going to kill us. She is going to eat us. Not only is she already hungry from being down there for so long, but we will have exhausted ourselves trying to pull her up and will have no chance of fighting back or escaping!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"I put so much effort into keeping _you_ away from predators and _rescuing_ you if they see us. I have brushed against death's door at least three times so far on this journey, just to ensure that you continue breathing and stay out of another Pokémon's stomach! And now you want to take one that cannot reach you and bring her right up next to you??"  
  
Roxy shrunk back a little against his harsh words. "…Taka, I-"  
  
"What would your _human_ say if she knew you were willing to throw your life away to save a creature that wanted you dead in the first place?"  
  
That did it. Roxy had been starting to have doubts about rescuing the Vulpix, but they all faded away once Taka brought up her master. Roxy put on a stern expression of her own and glared right back up at Taka. "My master would _definitely_ want me to help!" she shouted, stomping her hind paw for emphasis.  
  
The air became really tense around the two Pikachu as they each stood their ground, glaring at each other. Roxy couldn't believe Taka could be as cruel as this. He was mean, and she had seen him fight for survival, but this was a whole new level that did nothing but tick her off.  
  
"Excuse me!"  
  
Two sets of Pikachu ears perked up upon hearing the voice, and they both turned their gazes back towards the hole.  
  
"Sorry, but I can kind of hear your discussion up there," the Vulpix said.  
  
Roxy quickly made her way back to the hole's edge. Taka hesitated for a few moments, then begrudgingly joined her. They both peered down at the Vulpix below.  
  
"I can understand your hesitation," she said to them, "That one is right; I _am_ a predator. But, please understand that you have nothing to worry about. I am in very serious trouble down here, and I am putting my safety in your paws. I would never, _never_ , attack someone who has just saved my life!"  
  
Up top, Roxy listened closely to her words. She sounded very sincere, and Roxy could even hear a touch of hurt in the Vulpix's voice from the fact that they would even consider something like that would happen. There was a pleading tone to her voice; a desperation to get out. Roxy thought, perhaps, she even heard fear.  
  
The Vulpix shook her head. "I promise you…" She put one paw over where her heart was. "I _swear_ on the honour of my tribe, you have my solemn word. I will not harm either of you, no matter what circumstances may come to pass."  
  
Roxy glanced over at Taka, who looked like he was losing his patience. "Well?"  
  
He said nothing, but his eyes told a thousand exasperated words.  
  
Turning her glance back down the hole, Roxy said, "I…believe her." It was the absolute truth. Roxy had never really considered herself an expert judge of character, but she found that she couldn't hear a single bit of dishonesty from the trapped Vulpix. She was actually a tad surprised at herself, especially considering that she was looking down at a predator. Maybe it was the fact that one of her master's neighbours owned a Vulpix, or maybe it was simply that Roxy could tell without a shadow of a doubt that the Vulpix was telling the truth.  
  
"You cannot be serious," Taka deadpanned.  
  
"Taka, I believe her!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"…I don't really know, but my gut is telling me to believe her. She sounds really trustworthy, and I believe her when she gave us her word. Taka, she's in trouble and she's asking for help!"  
  
Taka didn't answer. Instead, he got up and started to walk away again.  
  
"Taka!!" Roxy shouted, moving to intercept him again.  
  
"I am _not_ taking part in this ridiculous game, _pet_! If she wants to get out of that hole, then she should ask another predator! We have nothing to gain from this and _every_ thing to lose!!"  
  
Roxy frowned and crossed her forelimbs. "I can't, Taka. I can't just leave someone behind who's in trouble. I would never forgive myself… We're potentially saving her life, here. I _really_ can't believe that she would just turn around and attack us right after… Right? She might even help us!"  
  
Taka continued to stare at her with that same irritated expression. Roxy didn't glare back at him, but she remained firm and resolute. Her mind was set, and it was only a matter of convincing Taka at the moment. She implored him a little bit with her gaze, silently asking him to lend a paw and help her.  
  
He spent a few minutes silently shifting his jaw, and multiple times looking like he was about to say something. At one point, he looked like he was slowly getting more and more pissed off, but then something switched in his head and he began to simmer down a little. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Taka finally threw up his paws in exasperation.  
  
He turned around, and at first it looked like he was going to walk off again. "Fine," he grumbled in a very dark tone, and Roxy saw that he was actually moving towards some nearby thick vines. "If we get eaten, I am going to _kill_ you…"  
  
Roxy smiled, and then put on a determined grin as she scampered forward to help him. "Don't worry, Taka. We'll be fine. I know it."  
  
The rain continued to drench the two of them as they worked, pulling down vines which mostly consisted of ivy plants crawling up the trunks of trees. Taka began to tie them together, while Roxy focused on grabbing more for him. She had to travel a fair distance away to find enough vines, which made her feel a little nervous. Luckily, though, she was met with no unwanted visitors.  
  
When she returned with the last vines she could find, she took a look at what Taka was doing and was surprised by his craftsmanship. He had been wearing a sulky frown the whole time, but this hadn't impacted his work ethic it seemed. Taka had done more than just tie the vines end to end, which is what she could have done. Instead, he twisted them together and interlinked them, sort of like a metal chain. Without even testing it out, Roxy could tell that it was pretty sturdy.  
  
"Are you still up there?" the Vulpix's voice called from the hole, "What is happening?"  
  
Roxy went back to the edge of the hole and peered down. "We're almost done! Just hang on!"  
  
The Vulpix smiled warmly. "Heavens be praised. Thank you so much, young one!"  
  
"You'll be out before you know it!" Roxy found herself smiling as well. For whatever reason, Roxy had gotten a really good first impression from this Vulpix, so much so that it had circumvented the fact that she was a predator.  
  
"Is it ready?" she asked as she returned to where Taka was working.  
  
Taka sighed. "This is a mistake."  
  
"That's your opinion. Now, c'mon!"  
  
Though he continued to make grumpy faces, Taka stood up and helped Roxy drag the long vine he had created over to the hole. Roxy glanced back and noticed that Taka had already tied one end to a nearby tree.  
  
"Wow, Taka…I'm very impressed by this," she said, giving him a bit of praise.  
  
He didn't answer. He didn't even look at her, and simply tossed the other end of the vine down into the hole.  
  
"Ah!" came the pleasantly surprised voice of the Vulpix, "Perfect!"  
  
Roxy peered over the edge again. She saw the Vulpix rear up on her hind paws and grip the vine as best she could with her forepaws. Then, she bit into the vine with her jaws, allowing Roxy a brief glimpse of her sharp fangs. This did cause a little shiver of doubt in the Pikachu, but she shook it off. Finally, the Vulpix stepped into two of the 'loops' Taka had created with her hind paws.  
  
"Okay!" Roxy called down, "You ready?"  
  
"Irrighneerrr!" she replied, her voice muffled by the vine in her mouth.  
  
Roxy then glanced over at Taka. "Let's do this!"  
  
"This is your last chance to back out…To keep yourself from being eaten."  
  
Roxy rolled her eyes. "Shut up and pull."  
  
So, they pulled. Right away, Roxy nearly slipped and fell on her rear in the mud. She was slightly embarrassed, but found her footing soon after and actually began to pull. That was when Roxy learned how heavy a typical Vulpix was.  
  
The two of them groaned and strained as they tried to pull. Roxy did feel the vine move, but not by very much, and the force of gravity was making itself well known. Already, she started to question if this was actually going to work or not. She tried to remember the weight listed in the encyclopaedia for Vulpix. She thought it was about seven pounds more than a Pikachu, or something like that.  
  
Roxy shook her head and refocused. She had a job to do now. Her forelimbs were already starting to get tired, but she decided to pretend that she was playing tug-o-war. She told herself that she just had to keep pulling and pulling or the other team was going to win.  
  
Thankfully, Taka was behind her. Roxy could feel his pull on the vine, showing just how much stronger than her he was. She figured that if her strength did give out and she let go by accident, Taka would be able to hold on and not let the Vulpix fall back down.  
  
At least, that's what she hoped would happen. She couldn't exactly test this theory.  
  
Minute by agonizing minute passed, and slowly but surely the two Pikachu pulled the vine back further and further. The rain did not help matters at all. It wasn't long before Roxy's vision was almost completely obscured by dewdrops all over her fur. She just kept on pulling, though. Luckily, the vine that Taka had constructed was holding together really well.  
  
Soon enough, Roxy began to feel that she was down to the last few drops of strength in her reserve. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at Taka and tried to convey this fact without opening her mouth. Taka, for what it was worth, was putting all of his effort into this task, even though he was obviously opposed to it. In a weird way, Roxy had to admire that.  
  
She was about to tell him that she couldn't pull anymore and had to let go, but Taka opened his mouth first. "Almost there…" he said in a strained voice.  
  
"What? How can you tell?" she asked. Talking out loud nearly took all of the wind right out of her.  
  
"Length."  
  
Roxy glanced at the vine they had been pulling and saw how much had been lifted out of the hole by this point. She then understood what Taka meant, as she realized that it looked almost as long as the hole had been deep.  
  
So, trusting Taka's word, Roxy dug deeper and found just a little more strength. She groaned out loud, but kept on pulling. She set her paws firmly in the ground, hoping to the heavens that she didn't slip. Inch by inch, more of the vine snaked its way out of the hole, getting closer and closer to the Vulpix that was on the other end.  
  
Finally, to Roxy's immense relief, she saw a pair of muddy paws reach up over the edge and latch on to the precipice. It was still too wet and muddy for her to pull herself up, so they still had to work a little bit more. Her forelimbs burned and felt like they were going to fall off, but Roxy let out a loud cry and kept on pulling.  
  
After a full, painful minute had passed, a pair of orange ears appeared followed by the Vulpix's face. She still had her jaws clamped tightly around the vine. Roxy was surprised that she hadn't bitten right though it at this point. Slowly, little by little, the Vulpix was lifted up. Her forelimbs were pawing at the ground, trying to find purchase.  
  
Roxy let out a strangled cry. She couldn't keep doing this anymore!  
  
Then, the Vulpix managed to lift one of her hind paws over the edge and that's what finally did it. The Vulpix swiftly and hurriedly scrambled up out of the hole, at which point all tension was released from the vine. As the Vulpix heaved herself away from the hole to land on her belly in the grass, Roxy and Taka fell victim to momentum and ended up tumbling into a heap on the ground. Roxy let out an 'oof!' as she ended up on her rump, her head spinning just a little.  
  
"Ow…" she murmured as she sat up straight and rubbed her head. She shook her head to stop the world from spinning, and looked to see if the Vulpix had managed to get out okay. She started slightly when she saw that, not only was the Vulpix on her paws, but she had silently moved up quite close to her.  
  
"Oh, hey!" she said after getting over her initial surprise, "You made it out! Great!"  
  
The Vulpix took a few slow steps towards her, looking Roxy right in the eye. There was a weird smile on her muzzle, and she didn't say a word.  
  
"So, uh…You okay? You're not hurt, are you?"  
  
There was a friendly smile on Roxy's face, but it slowly began to wane as the Vulpix continued to approach her without saying anything. The larger Pokémon's eyes were narrowed, and staring directly into Roxy's own. A quiet, almost imperceptible sound could be heard, and it made Roxy frown. Was the Vulpix…growling?  
  
"Uh…Taka?" She glanced over her shoulder, but saw that Taka was still laying face-down on the ground with a paw to his head. It looked like he had hit his head on a tree root when they had tumbled and was still trying to regain his senses.  
  
Roxy glanced back at the Vulpix. Uncertainty began to grow within her. This didn't look like the same friendly Vulpix. There was a look in her eyes that didn't look amicable at all. The Vulpix was moving so slowly, and so deliberately. Roxy began to realize that it looked kind of like stalking.  
  
She gulped, quickly chastising her mind for jumping to such conclusions. She tried to smile once more, but now she was getting nervous. Her smile didn't last long at all. A hundred doubtful thoughts began to bang around in her head, and she remorsefully asked herself if she had just made a horrible mistake.  
  
The Vulpix's tongue slipped out of her mouth. She was licking her chops. Roxy recognized that look in her eyes now… _Hunger_.  
  
Roxy gulped and quickly wracked her brain for what to do now, but the Vulpix was already inches from her. Their noses were almost touching, and Roxy could feel the other Pokémon's warm breath. If she so much as reached for her spear, that would give the Vulpix all the time it would need to pounce and swallow her whole.  
  
Her only hope was lying on the ground behind her, still dazed and dizzy. A horrible shiver ran up her spine as scenes from her life played before her eyes. A tiny voice in her head told her that, believe it or not, this was it. This was where it all ended. She didn't even have the time to close her eyes before the Vulpix suddenly darted forward!  
  
…and started licking her cheek.  
  
It took about five seconds for Roxy's heart to restart itself. She just sat there, stunned and unable to come up with a response for this utterly bizarre turn of events. The Vulpix kept licking her, like a young Lillipup, and all Roxy could do was blink.  
  
She heard Taka groan, which was enough to kick-start her brain. "Ah!" she muttered, moving her head back to try and avoid any more licks. This only made the Vulpix giggle and reach forward to deliver more. "What is…?" Roxy mumbled, "…What?"  
  
A moment later, she heard the familiar sound of Taka drawing his spear. The Vulpix froze, her tongue halfway up Roxy's face. Roxy turned her head up, and saw that Taka was pointing the spear directly towards one of the Vulpix's eyes. That was all he had done, though.  
  
"My apologies…" the Vulpix spoke in a slow, careful tone, "I did not realize you wanted to have first dibs on my gratitude so badly."  
  
Roxy craned her neck back to look at Taka. She saw that he still seemed a little disoriented. Even though he had expertly drawn and readied his weapon, it was still taking him a few seconds to realize what was going on.  
  
"Taka, you can put it down," Roxy spoke, "…I think."  
  
He didn't move.  
  
"…Taka, c'mon."  
  
It took a few more tense seconds, but Taka eventually relented and warily lowered his spear.  
  
The Vulpix took a few steps back so she was no longer invading their personal space and sat down, at which point she raised a paw to her mouth and giggled. "I am sorry if I frightened you. I could not resist…"  
  
Roxy blinked. "Oh! Uh, yeah. That's fine."  
  
"Seriously, though," she went on to say, adopting a warm smile as she did, "I am very grateful for your help. I was…It was frightening down there, to be perfectly honest. You two are both such wonderful Pokémon for what you have done for me." She placed a paw on her heart. "I humbly offer my thanks."  
  
Roxy's own smile was starting to return. "Oh, don't worry about it. We couldn't just leave you down there, right Taka?" She glanced over her shoulder at the other Pikachu, but saw that he was just standing there with his spear half-raised and a glowering look on his face.  
  
Turning back to the Vulpix, Roxy offered an apologetic smile for his behaviour. "We're just glad you're okay."  
  
"My name is Vi," the Vulpix replied, "It is wonderful to make your acquaintance."  
  
"I'm Roxy! This is my friend Taka."  
  
Vi giggled softly again. "My, your name only serves to further show that you are not from around here."  
  
"Ah, yeah…" Roxy said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I live with the humans."  
  
"Yours must be a fascinating story."  
  
Roxy shrugged. "Well, kinda. I guess…"  
  
"Are you _through_?" Taka suddenly interjected, causing both of the others to turn and give him a surprised look.  
  
"…What?" Roxy replied, befuddled.  
  
Taka still had not fully withdrawn his weapon. "We did what you wanted to do," he said, "We rescued the _predator_ from the hole. Now she is safe and well, so are you or are you not ready to _move on_?"  
  
Roxy frowned and crossed her forelimbs, giving Taka a disapproving look. "Taka, I'm just being friendly."  
  
"Be friendly with someone less prone to devour you."  
  
Roxy looked at Taka aghast and then glanced over at Vi, hoping she hadn't gotten offended. To her relief,  Vi seemed to find Taka's frustrations amusing.  
  
"You have nothing to worry about, Taka," Vi said, "I gave you my solemn word that I would not harm you. Even if I had not done so, I am in deep gratitude to the two of you for rescuing me. To attack you now would be nothing short of injustice and cruelty."  
  
Taka was unfazed, looking just as cross. "Forgive me if I do not believe you," he said in a sarcastic tone.  
  
Vi simply shook her head, and then raised a paw up to her heart once more. "I am a member of the 'Burning Paws'," she said. The look she then gave Taka implied that this single statement would explain everything. When neither Pikachu responded, she added, "That is the name of my tribe."  
  
"Sorry," Roxy said, "We're, ah…from really far away."  
  
"The Burning Paws," Vi explained, "have lived in these lands for countless generations. We are a tightly-knit family of Pokémon, mostly fire-breathers but not exclusively, and we have remained strong and united for these many years because of what we share. Our tribe's entire foundation is built upon being truthful, honourable, just and trustworthy. We place so much value upon keeping our word. The singe we all share is a reflection of that."  
  
She then held one of her paws out towards them, and Roxy was confused for a moment as to why. She gave Vi a curious look for a moment, wondering if she just wanted to shake paws, but Roxy soon enough saw what the Vulpix was indicating. Roxy had thought it was just a splotch of mud like many similar blemishes on her fur, but Vi's right forepaw was actually painted black. Her entire paw, right up to the wrist, was coloured jet black.  
  
Roxy looked more closely to see if there were any other painted marks on Vi's fur, but she could find none. The rain was starting to wash away some of the mud, revealing that all of her orange fur was untouched save for her right forepaw.  
  
Vi saw that Roxy was looking at her paw and chuckled softly. "This is my singe. Everyone in the tribe has one, and it is a constant reminder to uphold our values."  
  
"Really?" Roxy said, feeling genuinely interested, "Who came up with that?"  
  
Before Vi could answer, Roxy yelped when Taka suddenly grabbed her shoulder and wheeled her around to face him. The expression on his face was _far_ from happy. "I fail to see how a history lesson is going to help us…" he said in a very flat tone.  
  
"But-" Roxy started to say, but Taka cut her off.  
  
"If you truly _are_ refusing to attack us," Taka said to Vi, skepticism laced in his tone, "then we will depart. We have a long way to go." He paused and narrowed his gaze. "I cannot understand _why_ you are letting us go, but know that it is a good choice. I would suggest you refrain from changing your mind." The silent threats woven into his last statement were not lost on either of them.  
  
"Really?" Vi replied, "Where are you going?" Apparently, she had chosen to ignore all but one of Taka's sentences.  
  
"We're headed north," Roxy spoke up before Taka could say anything else, "We're going to the forest's edge."  
  
Vi glanced around for a moment, and then looked back at them. "North from here? Oh, I see. You will be headed directly for our territory then."  
  
Roxy's eyebrows shot up. She wasn't sure whether to feel intrigued or nervous about that. "Really…?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Yes," Vi said as she nodded, "If you continue to travel due north, you will end up right in the centre of Burning Paws territory."  
  
"And, uh…" Roxy paused and glanced to the side for a moment, anxious about the answer to her next question. "Are they all, uh…Your tribe, I mean…Like you, are they…"  
  
Vi nodded. "We are a tribe of predators."  
  
"Mmm…"  
  
"Do not concern yourself with us," Taka said, roughly pulling on Roxy's shoulder to try and pull her away from the conversation.  
  
"I would not recommend that you brazenly enter," Vi said, "I may have given my word not to harm you, but I am just one in a tribe of many. We practice justice and honour, but the basic law of the food chain still rules."  
  
"We have made it through countless enemy tribes. If you will not pursue us, then yours will be no different," Taka said. Roxy could hear his tone slowly getting more tense.  
  
"Please listen to me," Vi continued, "Be reasonable. Entering our lands would be putting the both of you in grave danger."  
  
Taka quickly rounded so that he was facing her directly. "Then we will go _around_ your territory!" he snapped. Roxy flinched a little from his sudden outburst.  
  
Vi wore a concerned look. "That would add _days_ to your journey. I do not think you realize just how large our territory is. We spread from edge to edge of the valley!"  
  
"Taka, calm down," Roxy spoke, "Maybe we should listen to her."  
  
The incensed Pikachu looked at the both of them with a very cross expression for a few tense, silent moments. "Roxy," he spoke, finally breaking the silence, "Let's _go_."  
  
When he began to march off into the trees, Roxy reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Taka, wait!"  
  
"Yes, please wait," Vi said, having stood up to follow the retreating Taka, "Listen to me for a moment."  
  
Taka didn't stop walking, and didn't acknowledge either of them, but Vi simply kept on walking behind him.  
  
"Listen," she continued, "I owe the both of you a debt of gratitude. Since you two are travelers, I was wondering to myself how I could possibly repay it. The answer is quite clear to me now. Taka, Roxy, please allow me to provide you safe passage through Burning Paws territory."  
  
Roxy stopped in her tracks. Taka kept going and only stopped when he saw that she was no longer following him. He merely glanced over his shoulder and gave Vi a very skeptical look.  
  
Vi smiled and extended her paw towards them, the one that was painted black. "I can easily  carry the both of you on my back," she said, "I can take you directly through the heart of our territory all the way to the other side. I will completely ensure the safety of both of you."  
  
"Really? You would really do that?" Roxy replied in an excited tone. She found herself smiling brightly. This seemed like a great idea. Who better to lead them through predator-infested lands than another predator? It would make this leg of their journey easy and safe. Plus, if what Vi said about the size of their territory was true, it would be a very significant leg of their journey.  
  
She looked over at Taka excitedly. His expression hadn't changed and he scoffed derisively at Vi, which managed to erase Roxy's smile.  
  
"Just how foolish do you think we are?" he asked her.  
  
Vi frowned and tilted her head. "I am not sure what you mean."  
  
Taka gave her a flat look. "This is why you are 'letting us go', is it? So that you can entice us with this little offer of yours. Then, when we think you are guiding us through your territory, you will just bring us right to your village where we will be severely outnumbered and utterly hopeless to escape."  
  
Roxy once again wanted to retort, but she found herself struck silent. Now that she thought about it, that _did_ sort of make sense. If Vi _was_ lying about sparing them, then claiming to give them safe passage would be the perfect way to lead them back to her tribe. It would be walking right into the open jaws of their enemies.  
  
"We are leaving, Roxy," Taka said, roughly.  
  
"Ah!" Roxy was jolted out of her thoughts, "But…Taka, wait. Hold on. Can we think about this for a minute?"  
  
"No."  
  
She groaned softly. "I just…I think we should…" She tried to form words, but everything was coming up jumbled in her head. It was a very, _very_ tempting offer that would cut down on travel time and danger, and it would even give her a chance to rest her tired paws if Vi was going to carry them. Taka had brought up a good point, though, and Roxy didn't want to go through the mess that would follow if he was right. Then again, even if she did want to go, she still had to actually convince the hard-headed Taka to go with her.  
  
Vi giggled, snapping Roxy out of her reverie once more. She was giving Roxy a strange look that she couldn't quite put her paw on. "You are cute when you are flustered," Vi commented.  
  
"What…?"  
  
The Vulpix just smiled and shook her head. "Your friend here strikes me as one whose trust it is nearly impossible to earn. What can I say, though? Ask any Pokémon who lives nearby, and they will know about the traditions of the Burning Paws." She sighed softly. "You rescued me, both of you. You might have even saved my life. Please believe me when I tell you that I truly am grateful and would not _dream_ of biting the paws of my saviours!"  
  
Roxy looked at Vi, and saw that she didn't look pleading or pushy at all. Roxy figured that if they did decline her offer, it would be no skin off of her back, but she was still trying to look out for the two of them. She glanced over at Taka, but his expression and demeanour hadn't changed a bit.  
  
Roxy decided to stop and take a moment to think. She asked herself, plainly and simply, if she believed Vi was telling the truth. Her time in the wilderness had made her skittish, nervous and untrusting, and it had taken her quite some time to get over those flaws. Even so, now that they were out in the depths of the wilderness, they were coming back.  
  
"Vi," Roxy said as she turned to face the Vulpix directly, "I want to believe you. I really do. What you're offering to us will be so helpful." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then stood up straight so she was as close as she could get to Vi's eye-level.  
  
"Tell me again," Roxy said, "Tell me your promises and your offer, please."  
  
To her credit, Vi didn't hesitate. She repeated almost everything she had already said, including her promise not to hurt them, her tribe's custom of upholding morals and truthfulness, and her offer to guide them safely through her territory. What was most important, though, was she did it while looking Roxy directly in the eyes the whole time.  
  
When Vi was done, Roxy nodded resolutely. "I believe you," she said.  
  
"Roxy…" Taka said in that tone of his that suggested he was quickly losing his patience.  
  
She was done arguing, though. Looking Vi directly in the eyes like that was enough proof she had needed. She hadn't seen a single hint of untruthfulness, dishonesty or duplicity. So, she felt no hesitation in stepping over to the Vulpix and getting right into her personal space. Right within reach of her deadly claws and fangs, where she held out a paw.  
  
Vi smiled and took Roxy's paw in her own, giving it a friendly shake. "That is so wonderful to hear, Roxy," Vi said in a warming voice.  
  
Roxy glanced back at Taka, and was slightly shocked to see that he had his paw on his weapon again. It looked like he was a hair-trigger away from striking. She shook her head dismissively. "C'mon, Taka," she said, "We don't wanna add _days_ to our journey do we?"  
  
"We will if we must…" he grumbled.  
  
"Ugh…!" Roxy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're impossible, y'know that?"  
  
"I am not going with _her_ ," Taka said, practically spitting the last word.  
  
"Taka, I'm being serious here. I really think this will be a good idea, and I think it's gonna be _really_ bad if we don't take her up on this offer. She's not lying, Taka. I can feel it. I really feel like I gotta go with my gut this time."  
  
"Come now, Taka," Vi added from behind her, "How can you say no to a cute little face like hers?"  
  
Roxy jumped slightly when Vi punctuated her statement with a sudden and unexpected over-the-shoulders hug. She nestled herself right up close, draped her paws gently across Roxy's chest, and rested her head on top of Roxy's. Taka, meanwhile, was down on all fours in a battle-ready stance. It looked like he had just barely stopped himself from acting on his instincts.  
  
"See? She's friendly!" Roxy said half-jokingly. She had to pause for a minute just to admire how soft this Vulpix's fur was, even though it was dirty and muddy.  
  
"She's probably also hungry…" Taka said in a warning tone.  
  
Roxy felt Vi shrug. "I will find some berries on the way. I see that you have some, but worry not. I can see your supply is rather short. Ah! Perhaps I could gather some berries from our village to give you as well? Perhaps as a sign of good will?"  
  
Taka gave the two of them a dubious look, showing just how unconvinced he was. "You seem _awfully_ eager for us to accept this offer."  
  
Vi sighed. "As I told you, we hold our values in high regard. It is important to me that I treat you right and repay my debt to you. If any other member of my tribe were in my place, they would act the same way." Vi paused. "Well, except for hugging you like this," she added with a giggle.  
  
"Heh. It's okay, I like hugs," Roxy replied.  
  
"Am I keeping you warm?"  
  
"Well, uh…You're a Fire-Type, so…" Roxy mumbled, referring to the Vulpix's higher-than-usual body temperature. She then shook her head and refocused, turning her attention back on Taka. He was standing there tensely, looking none too pleased with the way things were progressing.  
  
"Well!" Roxy spoke up resolutely. She politely pushed her way out of Vi's hug, and then walked over behind her. Vi laid prone on the ground for her, and Roxy gave her a thankful smile before carefully climbing onto her back. She watched Taka as she did so and found his reactions humorous. He looked like a stressed-out petsitter who could only watch as a rambunctious little cub ran around on the roof where he couldn't reach her.  
  
"Roxy…" he spoke in a low tone.  
  
"C'mon, Taka! Let's go before anyone else falls back in that hole."  
  
"Roxy, get _down_ ," he said through gritted teeth.  
  
She grinned cheekily at him. "Nope!"  
  
What followed was a rather intense staring contest between the two Pikachu. Vi remained still, politely keeping herself out of their personal conflict. Roxy wasn't backing down, and even crossed her forelimbs. She raised her eyebrow and gave him an expectant look.  
  
The facts were clear to her. The pros outweighed the cons. She had done as much as she could to reinforce her trust in this Pokémon, who had so far been nothing but a delight to them. While she had never heard of Pokémon doing so, Roxy had read about certain human cultures who had similar values to the ones Vi described. With everything else she'd seen in this crazy forest, it didn't seem too farfetched to her. Either way, she reasoned that if things did turn sour, which she was almost certain they wouldn't, then she and Taka could easily handle Vi. Taka wanted to play it safe and take the hard way home.  
  
 _When did you become so brazen?_ she wondered to herself, and then shrugged.  
  
Taka stood there silently fuming for a good three to five minutes. Roxy knew he could be stubborn, and she _did_ see where he was coming from, but she felt like she had to push for this to happen. It would be better and safer in the long run if they could get out of the forest sooner rather than later, right?  
  
Then, at long last, Taka wordlessly approached Vi. He stopped in front of her and gave her the nastiest stink eye Roxy had ever seen. Roxy glanced down and saw that Vi didn't flinch, and simply gave a smile in response. A few moments of tense silence passed. Finally, he stepped around her and approached her hind end, after which he climbed up on her back so that he was sitting behind Roxy.  
  
"There we go!" Vi said brightly as she stood up, "You are both actually lighter than I thought. This will be no problem."  
  
"See Taka?" Roxy said as she reached forward and lightly grasped the fur on the back of Vi's neck so she could hold on, "Just you wait. Everything'll be fine!"  
  
Taka just let out a low growl in response.  
  
"Just lighten up, would ya?" she said, tossing a glance over her shoulder.  
  
"My weapon remains drawn at all times," Taka replied in a stern voice, and Roxy could see that he was already holding his boomerang ready in one of his paws.  
  
"Suit yourself," Vi said with a shrug.  
  
Roxy sighed. "Sorry about him."  
  
"No need to worry about it," Vi said, "All young couples fight from time to time."  
  
"Ah!" Roxy sputtered for a moment. "We're not a couple. We're just traveling companions."  
  
"Really?" Vi said as she turned in a particular direction and suddenly took off running, forcing Roxy to hold on tightly.  
  
"Yeah. He's a friend of mine, and he's helping me escape the forest."  
  
"Well," Vi commented, "That is quite interesting…"


	29. The Burning Paws

Roxy took a moment to consider just where her life had taken her at this point.  
  
She was currently riding on the back of a wild Pokémon, who also happened to be a predator, running through the endless forest like it was a joyride. Taka, her stoic and unsmiling partner, sat behind her, sharing the ride with her. The predator below, who could eat them both with a snap of her jaws, was kind and friendly and had stated her intention to never harm them, as thanks for saving her life.  
  
Where was the nature documentary covering _that_?  
  
To tell the truth, Roxy was having the time of her life. She had come to trust Vi as much as she could, given how long they had known each other, and was now just enjoying the sights. Being with a predator meant they didn't have to worry as much about other predators. She let her mind relax a little and watched the passing scenery as it whizzed by.  
  
Vi was really fast, considering she was carrying two Pokémon on her back. She was also quite nimble, able to surmount large rocks and fallen trees while hardly disturbing her two passengers. Roxy jokingly wondered to herself if they could keep Vi for the entire journey.  
  
"How long will it take until we reach the other end of your territory?" Roxy asked. They had already been running for quite a while, though she wasn't sure exactly how long.   
  
"We have actually just _entered_ my territory," Vi replied.  
  
"What?" Roxy replied, flabbergasted.  
  
"I told you, I was very far from my tribe's borders. That is why it was unlikely any of them would have found me."  
  
"Oh really? Wow…"   
  
Roxy and Vi had chatted quite a bit on their journey so far. Vi had asked to hear Roxy's story, as had been expected, and Roxy once again retold what had happened to her. Vi seemed fascinated, in particular, by the concept of 'pets'. She had also been very sympathetic to Roxy's plight, and commented afterwards that it truly felt to her like a sad story with a happy ending.  
  
Roxy, in turn, had asked and learned what Vi's name meant. She was surprised to learn that, unlike literally everyone else she had met in the forest, her name held no secret meaning. It was just something her parents had liked. Apparently Vi's tribe held to a more 'traditional' naming system.   
  
Taka had not said a single, solitary word the entire time. If he weren't riding right behind her, Roxy might have forgotten he was even there. He didn't even make any of his classic disapproving grunts and growls when someone said something he didn't agree with. He was completely silent. Roxy had considered prodding him to start talking, but decided against it. Taka was not one who should be prodded.  
  
"So _everyone_ in your tribe has that mark on their paws?" Roxy was asking.  
  
"As soon as we hatch, and until we die," Vi replied.  
  
"What about something like a Houndour? Do you have any of them in your tribe? Wouldn't the paint not show up?"  
  
"Well, no, because Houndour and Houndoom have those white rings above their paws. We paint those black."  
  
"Oh right," Roxy said, nodding, "…But, what about, uh…" She trailed off, trying to think of another example. The Salandit and Litten families were black in colour, but Roxy would be _very_ surprised if an Alolan Pokémon were living in this forest.  
  
"It has not been a problem, as far as I know," Vi replied, "Even if it were, though, we would find a way. The singe is an important part of our customs."  
  
"Where did that come from?" Roxy asked, "How did that start?"  
  
"Ah, I could tell you. However, I think it would be a much more enriching experience to hear it from my tribe. We have many wonderful storytellers."  
  
"Oh, okay," Roxy said with a nod. It took her a couple of moments to realize what she had just heard. "Wait, what?" she spat out.  
  
"Excuse me?" Taka said from behind her, making her jump a little in fright.  
  
Vi glanced over her shoulder, somehow not losing her stride at all. "We will not reach the opposite end by sundown," she explained, "It would be better if we spend the night at _the Den_ and then continue in the morning."  
  
"I-" Roxy paused. "…What's 'the Den'?"  
  
"That is where most of us live. We call it 'the Den'."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Never mind that," Taka cut in, "If you are not willing to take us to the other end when night falls, then we will continue without you. We are not going back to your village."  
  
"What?" Roxy spat out again, "Taka, what's the matter with you? That's a stupid idea!"  
  
"What did I say to you before we left?" Taka gruffly asked, "What did I say would happen?"  
  
"Oh, pff…" Roxy waved her paw dismissively. "She's not going to do that. _They_ are not gonna do that."  
  
"Why do you think you can act like an expert, _pet_?!" Taka shouted, "Not only have _I_ lived here, but _I_ have done this journey before!"  
  
"Ooh, temper, temper…" Vi said in a somewhat saucy tone, "I was not aware that you were part Drifblim, Taka."  
  
There was a moment of silence. "Ex _cuse_ me?" Taka finally said.  
  
"Only Drifblim are full of that much hot air."  
  
Roxy didn't even have to turn around to know what kind of face Taka was making in response to that. She couldn't anyway, or Taka would see her stifling a laugh.  
  
"Must I remind you that we are both _armed_?!" Taka exclaimed.  
  
"Oh, I am _quivering_ , Taka," Vi said in a bored tone.  
  
Roxy shook her head. "Stop it, Taka. Just…think about what you're saying. Vi is the reason we're even able to be safely in this territory. If we leave her, nothing's to stop her tribesmates from attacking us, right?"  
  
"She is cute _and_ smart," Vi commented from below.  
  
"She is also naïve…" Taka grumbled.  
  
"Are you certain that the two of you are not a couple?" Vi asked in a playful voice, "I mean really… How can you resist charm like hers?"  
  
Roxy snorted. "Yeah, Taka! Aren't I irresistible?" she said in a joking tone, and then giggled.  
  
Taka was silent for a moment. Roxy knew he was thinking about his next words, but she had fun imagining that he was blushing and getting flustered.  
  
"…You really intend to go through with this?" Taka asked Roxy.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"And you realize that traveling directly to the heart of a predator tribe, to the village where they all gather, is perhaps the absolute most dangerous thing we could do."  
  
"Yeah, but stop worrying. Nothing's gonna go wrong. I just know it this time, okay? It's gonna be fine."  
  
"What would your _human_ say?"  
  
Roxy pouted. "She would say, 'Stop being rude and show some damn gratitude.'"  
  
The sigh that Taka heaved was the very definition of 'exasperated'.  
  
"I promise," Roxy said, "At the first sign of trouble, we'll run. But that's not gonna be necessary."  
  
"Hmph…"  
  
Vi flashed her a quick glance. "Interesting how he likes to act as if I cannot hear him, is it not?"  
  
Roxy sighed as well. "I'm sorry, Vi. We really do appreciate you helping us out."  
  
The Vulpix chuckled. "It is not as if I cannot see his side. This conflict only exists because the two of you see the situation in completely opposite ways. He is steadfast, cautious, and places value on conservatism. You, on the other paw, are adorable."  
  
"Wh…?" Roxy gave her a confused look, even though Vi couldn't see it. "What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"It means everything!" Vi said with a laugh, "It will help you win all of life's arguments!"  
  
Roxy laughed a little. "You're funny, Vi."  
  
Vi just let out a quiet chuckle and continued to run forwards.   
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
A few hours went by, and nothing much happened except more running. Vi hadn't been kidding when talking about how large her clan's territory was. Conversation had simmered down somewhat, leaving Roxy to just watch the trees as they zipped by.  
  
At one point, Roxy had asked why they hadn't seen any other members of the clan yet. Vi explained to her that most of their territory was considered hunting grounds, and that if one was not at the Den, they were hunting.   
  
That statement had brought a heavy dose of reality back into Roxy's head. It was an unnerving thought that she immediately tried to stop thinking about, but this was easier said than done. A little bit of the doubt that Taka was full of began to seep over to her, but she shook it off. Months in the forest had taught her to fight back against her anxieties, and this time was no different.  
  
It was a sobering thought, though. At the end of the day, the Burning Paws were still all predators and they lived the predator's lifestyle. There was nothing wrong with that; it was just nature. Roxy held fast to her belief that Vi was telling the truth and would keep them safe. She had made her decision hours ago, and she couldn't go back now.   
  
She honestly did not believe she was wrong. She also prayed that she wasn't.  
  
With every step forward, Roxy could feel Taka tensing up behind her. They were sitting so close to one another on Vi's back that she could feel just how tense and rigid his muscles were. She knew he wasn't scared; he was never scared. He was, however, very concerned.  
  
On the bright side of things, the rain finally let up after a while of traveling. All three of them were soaked to the bone and probably wouldn't be getting dry any time soon, but it was a welcome reprieve nonetheless.   
  
"The Den is just over this hill!" Vi suddenly announced, snapping Roxy out of her daydream.  
  
"Wha? Really?" She looked ahead and saw a moderately steep rise in the land before them, dotted with trees just like everything else. She couldn't see over the top at all.  
  
"We will be there in a couple of minutes. This is fortunate, since the sun will set before the end of the hour."  
  
Roxy glanced up at the sky, or what little she could see through the tree cover. There were still plenty of rain clouds hovering up there, but Roxy could see a few tiny patches of purple sky. It was later in the day than she thought it was.  
  
"Vi! There you are!"  
  
Roxy jumped in surprise and nearly tumbled off of Vi's back as she shot her head over to the side. She had felt Taka tense up behind her as she was looking at the sky, but hadn't paid it any mind. Now she saw why, as the group had been joined by a Houndour.  
  
He was slightly taller than Vi was, and he had a hardened look on his face. He looked rather young, but also looked like he had been through many harsh experiences. As Vi had described earlier, one of the white rings around one of his forepaws was coloured jet black. Looking closely, Roxy actually could see a touch of difference between his natural fur and the painted fur.  
  
The Houndour had come up alongside of Vi and was now keeping pace with her. There was a flash of relief in his eyes as he spoke. "You were gone for so long, we did not know where you were."  
  
"Moonbeam, I am so glad to see a familiar face!" Vi replied, "I was in trouble! I was worried I would not be able to make it home."  
  
"You were?" the Houndour, Moonbeam, asked in shock, "Dear heavens, are you okay?"  
  
Vi nodded. "Yes. Thankfully, I was rescued."  
  
Moonbeam tilted his head and regarded the two passengers on her back. Roxy and Taka both held still, and Moonbeam kept his gaze on them for a couple of seconds. Then, he looked back at Vi and said, "I understand. Well, in any case, it is good to see that you are safe."  
  
"What? Was it too much to have the entire tribe form a rescue party and spend days or even weeks looking for me?"  
  
Moonbeam blinked. "I, uh…"  
  
Vi snickered. "Gosh," she said in a playful, non-serious voice, "So lazy…"  
  
The Houndour just looked at her for a few moments in silence. "Uh," he finally spoke, "In any case, I shall go inform Lord Ignis that you have returned." The two nodded to one another in understanding, and then he looked up at the two Pikachu once more. "Hello."  
  
It took Roxy's brain a moment to catch up with what was happening. "Er- Uh…Hi?"  
  
Moonbeam was already gone, though. Vi continued on in the same direction, but at a much more leisurely pace.   
  
"Ah…" Roxy said, now that the encounter was over. She realized that had been the moment where she would discover if she was wrong or right about trusting Vi; the moment they met another of her tribe. And, to her mild surprise, it had gone off without a hitch. Though she had been so sure of herself, Roxy was so used to things going wrong that it took her by surprise.  
  
"He seemed…Nice…"  
  
Vi shrugged. She continued through the trees and eventually reached the top of the hill. As she started down the other side, Roxy looked ahead and saw that there were a number of Fire-Type Pokémon ahead. There was no sign of a village or anything of the like, but Vi's tribe was there nonetheless. She saw quite a few Vulpix, a couple of Ninetales, some Flareon, Houndour, Growlithe, and even more. It was a bit hard to see from the distance, but Roxy could tell that they each had a black-coloured paw.  
  
As Vi made her way down to the bottom of the hill, she started to pass some of the Pokémon by. Roxy kept her eyes moving, and she watched each Pokémon that they walked past. Most of them lifted their heads to see who the newcomer was, waved when they saw it was Vi, and then went back to whatever they were doing. Few of them even paid the two Pikachu a second glance.  
  
"Vi! Where have you been?"  
  
Roxy turned her head around in the opposite direction and saw that a Flareon was approaching them. Her voice suggested that she was a female, and she seemed excited to see the Vulpix return.  
  
"Well, hello to you too," Vi said to her in an airy voice, "You sure are a sight for sore eyes."  
  
The Flareon chuckled softly. "Moonbeam told me you were in trouble. What happened?"  
  
"Are you my welcoming committee? Do I get a special dance?"  
  
"Seriously," the Flareon said, rolling her eyes.  
  
Vi shook her head. "I will tell the tribe at the gathering, Fina. Wait until then."  
  
"Oh, come on. You have to tell me something!"  
  
Vi chuckled. "You have a nice tail."  
  
"Vi!"  
  
"You asked me to tell you something, and that was something!"  
  
Fina, the Flareon, laughed and shook her head. Her gaze shifted up to the two Pikachu on her back, but they stayed there for no more than a couple of seconds before returning to look at Vi. "Well, in any case, I look forward to hearing it. Sounds like an exciting tale!"  
  
"An exciting tail you say?"  
  
Roxy flinched as Fina suddenly swatted Vi across the nose with the tip of her tail. "Stop it, you," Fina said, though in a friendly tone.  
  
The two shared a few more words, and then Fina ran off. The Flareon had barely acknowledged the two Pikachu at all.   
  
"Wow," Roxy commented, "This is so interesting. I thought there would be more…"  
  
One of Vi's ears swiveled back to listen. "More what?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I thought more of them would be asking questions, or being…I dunno, curious. I mean, we are outsiders, aren't we?"  
  
"Heh…Your mere presence alongside me is enough to tell everyone that you are a guest and you are not to be harmed or bothered. I am sure many of them have already guessed what kind of oath I have promised to you."  
  
"Oh, really? I see…" Roxy glanced at all of the nearby villagers once more. "Does this mean we have to stay on your back?"  
  
Vi laughed and replied, "Not necessarily. Just do not wander off and you will be fine."  
  
"Hm…Okay then." She continued to look around, and made eye contact with a few of the Fire-Types. She smiled at them, and those she smiled at did usually smile back. They didn't wave or say anything, but no-one seemed unhappy that they were in the territory.   
  
Vi climbed over another small hill, and then began to make her way down to a small depressed valley in the centre of surrounding hills. There were many more Pokémon here than she had seen earlier along the way. Most of them were milling about or relaxing, but a lot of them were sitting at the mouth of small holes that had been dug into the hillsides. Surrounding this small valley was a collection of underground dens, and suddenly the name of the area made more sense to Roxy.   
  
This was where she saw that most of the villagers were either Vulpix or Ninetales. She wasn't sure that they formed a majority, but there did seem to be more of them than any other species. Many of them, along with the rest of the Pokémon, glanced up upon their arrival.   
  
Roxy also saw that at the centre of everything, in between all of the dens and the small hills, there was some sort of construct made of tree branches. It almost looked like an effigy of something, but she couldn't discern any recognizable shape from it. It seemed to be the focal point, as everything else looked like it radiated outward from that single point.  
  
Sitting next to the construct was a rather large Ninetales. In addition to his black paw, he wore a necklace of leaves around his neck, all of which had been painted black. He seemed pleased to see that Vi was approaching.  
  
"This is really neat," Roxy spoke. She then turned her head over her shoulder to look at Taka. "Isn't it?" she asked, but then frowned.  
  
Taka looked even tenser than he had looked before. It looked like something was really making him feel uneasy about their surroundings. Roxy returned her gaze forward to try and see what it was. It took her a few moments, but then she saw it.  
  
Many of the Fire-Types, whether they were sitting under a tree or resting at the mouth of their den, were eating meat. They were small, unidentifiable chunks of flesh that wouldn't look out of place in a human supermarket, but it was meat nonetheless. She saw a few Pokémon, mostly young ones, gnawing on bones as well.  
  
Roxy gulped and stiffened up. 'It's just nature', she said to herself over and over again, 'It's just nature. It's just nature. It's not like _you're_ gonna end up like that…'  
  
Then, something astonishing happened. Most of the Pokémon who were looking up to greet the newcomer saw that she had guests riding on her back. Many eyes focused on the two Pikachu for a few moments. Then, all at once, the Fire-Types started picking up the meat and carrying it back into their den. All of them did it at the same time. When they emerged soon after, the meat had been left inside. After less than a minute, there was no longer any dead meat in sight at all.  
  
'They really _are_ honourable…' Roxy thought, 'They did that so we would not be uncomfortable. And no-one asked them to do it, they just _did_ it!'  
  
Vi bounded down to the wooden construct and sat down a small distance away from it. She tilted her head and indicated for the two of them to disembark. Roxy did so right away. Taka seemed hesitant at first, and then warily stepped off of Vi as well. He ended up standing right next to her, somewhat placing himself in front of Vi and the large Ninetales with the necklace that sat nearby.  
  
Vi then walked over to the Ninetales and bowed before him.   
  
"Vi," the Ninetales greeted her, "Moonbeam tells me you were in trouble. I am glad to see you are unharmed."  
  
"Thank you, Lord Ignis," Vi said as she stood up from her bow, "I am happy to have returned safely."  
  
Ignis smiled softly and nodded. He then turned to look at the two Pikachu. "I see that you have brought guests." He didn't say it in an accusatory tone, or as if questioning as to why she would have done such a thing. It was simply an observance.  
  
"Yes," Vi said with a nod, "I have them to thank for rescuing me from the hole I fell into."  
  
"Is that so?" Ignis said, and then addressed Roxy and Taka. "The Burning Paws offer their thanks for rescuing one of our kind."  
  
A moment passed with Roxy simply staring up at the _much larger creature_ , but that passed and she instead smiled. "You're welcome! We couldn't just leave her there, after all."  
  
"May I ask what your names are?"  
  
"I'm Roxy, and this is Taka."  
  
Taka shot her a quick, displeased look. She wasn't quite sure why.  
  
Ignis nodded and said, "Welcome." He then turned to regard Vi once more. "Have you promised them anything in return?"  
  
"I have," Vi replied, "I promised them safe passage to the northern border of our territory."  
  
"Oh!" Ignis said, and then let out a hearty laugh. "Is that all? Well, that is no trouble at all. I presume there was not time to make it there before nightfall, so you have brought them here?"  
  
Vi nodded.  
  
"Well," Ignis said, turning to face the two of them once more, "Vi will provide you with a safe location to sleep, and you can continue on when the sun rises. I am sure Vi has already told you this, but as long as you are here, there is no need to fear harm from any one of us. You are our guest and receiver of our gratitude."  
  
Roxy was definitely smiling now. She liked this Ignis character. She was guessing by the way that others referred to him as 'Lord' that he was the tribe's leader. He looked strong and battle-hardened, but the way he talked was so pleasant and gentle.   
  
"Thanks!" she said to him, "We really do appreciate it. We're on a really long journey, and this helps us a whole lot!"  
  
Ignis smiled and nodded at her. He then turned to Taka, and his smile faltered a little when he saw the sour expression that the other Pikachu was still wearing. Roxy wanted to whack him in the noggin for being so rude.  
  
"I see that you," he said, specifically referring to Taka, "have doubts? Reservations, perhaps?"  
  
Taka didn't reply.  
  
Ignis smiled knowingly. "Well, you are certainly not the first. Perhaps the two of you would like to hear the story of our ancestors?"  
  
Roxy's eyes widened a little. "The story of your ancestors?" she repeated, "What do you mean?" Taka, meanwhile, simply raised an eyebrow.  
  
Ignis chuckled to himself, and then turned his head to address the rest of the tribe. "What say you, my brethren? Shall we tell the story of the Burning Paws?"  
  
There was an uproarious response from the gathered Fire-Types, and not a single negative response could be heard. Before Ignis even said another word, some of the Fire-Types were already exiting their dens and starting to gather around the wooden construct. Seeing their approach made Taka tense up a little, but none of them came terribly near to the two.  
  
Vi smiled eagerly and walked off to the side, beckoning Roxy and Taka to follow her. She led them a short distance to a fallen log, which she sat upon the end of. Roxy got the picture, and sat down next to her. It took a bit more encouragement, but eventually Taka sat down on the other end of the log.  
  
"The Lord of the tribe is required to learn this story by heart," Vi explained, "It is to be told on every full moon, but we enjoy hearing it so much that we sometimes take any excuse to hear it. Ignis is a great storyteller!"  
  
Some of the other villagers were now seated around the construct in a semicircle, while Ignis stood on the opposite side. He stood up on all fours and held his head up high in a sort of regal pose. Then, after a moment of silence, he held up his black paw towards the structure. Roxy glanced around and saw that the other villagers were doing the same thing with their black paws.  
  
Roxy turned to her right and saw that, as she expected, Vi was doing it as well. She was briefly worried that she and Taka were supposed to do something as well, despite their lack of black paws, but Vi gave her a quick smile that quelled her worries.  
  
"Today," Ignis suddenly spoke in a powerful, resonating voice, "our tribe is many. Long, long ago, our tribe was but a few."   
  
In near unison, all of the tribe members put down their black paws.  
  
"Life drew these firebreathers together, so many countless moons ago. No more than ten, but they stuck together like family. They stayed close to one another, they shared the same hunting grounds, and they worked together to survive. These are our ancestors."  
  
Suddenly, every single Pokémon seated around the construct, including Vi, took in a deep breath and expelled a Flamethrower attack directly at the wooden structure. Roxy yelped in surprise as so many powerful jets of fire erupted all at once, and watched in awe as they converged into a single point. In mere seconds, the effigy was ablaze.  
  
"The fire burned not only in their maws, but in their hearts!" Ignis proclaimed, his voice growing more powerful, "Like any firebreather, they lived for passion, for bravery, and for the simple rush of excitement that comes with life. They were not like we are now, and yet they were not so different."  
  
Ignis began to slowly circle the burning effigy as he continued. "But one heart…One heart burned brighter than the rest. We know him as Firedancer. Whether or not this was his true name, none remain who know for sure. Even his exact kind has been lost to the floes of time. Was he a Ninetales? An Arcanine? A Flareon? It is impossible to tell, but unnecessary to know.  
  
"From a very early point, he became the leader of this small tribe. The others all looked up to him and respected him deeply. He was smart, cunning, a strong warrior, and brave beyond belief. No-one dared to challenge his leadership. None _could_. When there were decisions to be made, or when trouble fell upon them, each one put their full trust into the paws of Firedancer."  
  
Roxy had been gazing at the burning wood the entire time, and it finally hit her. The wood had been oddly shaped before, but now that it was burning the flames took on a more recognizable shape. She saw a distinct pair of ears and the curve of a snout. It really _was_ an effigy.  
  
"One fateful day," Ignis continued, "Firedancer was out hunting near the river. He was using the sound of the rushing water to mask the sound of his paws. The hunting winds were not kind to him on this day, however, as he could find no prey. He continued along the water's edge, hoping to find at least _something_ to bring back to his hungry tribemates.   
  
"Soon, Firedancer reached the top of a large waterfall. Sharp rocks lined the bottom, meaning almost certain death for any poor soul who was swept over the edge. Firedancer was not afraid of the waterfall nor the dizzying heights of the cliff he now stood upon. When he gazed around and still saw no sign of any other Pokémon, he decided to try his luck on the opposite side of the river.  
  
"Luckily, there was a large tree nearby. Its branches stuck out over the river, and one sturdy branch was just long enough to reach out close enough to the other side. In a flash, Firedancer climbed the tree and started to cross the branch. When he would reach the other side, it would be effortless for him to leap the remaining distance and land on the other side. The waterfall raged beneath him, but he barely gave it a second glance."  
  
Ignis closed his eyes, hung his head slightly, and started to slowly pace around the burning wood. "However, his bravery ended up blinding him, for Firedancer did not notice the large knot in the tree's branch. One of his hind paws got caught on the knot and he quickly lost his balance. Firedancer tried to hold onto the branch, but his paws could find no purchase. Powerless, he fell down to the raging waters below.  
  
"Luck shined on him, though. Firedancer did not plunge into the river, but landed on a small rock situated in the middle. It was only barely large enough for him to stand on, it was very slick from the raging waters that surrounded it, and it was a few mere paw lengths away from the edge of the waterfall.   
  
"Firedancer was still not afraid of the river or the waterfall, but he was now concerned. Luck had prevented his death, but now he found himself trapped. Firedancer was a fine swimmer, but the rock was located too close to the waterfall's edge. Any attempt to swim would just end up with him being swept over the falls. The rock was too far from either of the river's banks for him to jump too, and none of the tree's branches were low enough to reach.  
  
Ignis stopped his pacing and stood still, placing himself directly between Roxy and Taka, and the effigy. "He considered his options, but found there were very few…"  
  
Roxy was staring at Ignis, nearly unblinking. She found herself completely enraptured by the story. Hearing Firedancer's predicament gave her the same rush that she felt when watching a tense moment in a movie with her master.  
  
"Hours passed," Ignis continued, "and Firedancer did not move from that spot. Things looked bleak. He was hoping that one of his tribemates would find him, but he realized that there was not much they could do anyway. Was there any way to get out of this alive? Was his life forfeit already?  
  
"The answer finally came from an unexpected source. Firedancer heard a sound coming from the edge of the river and quickly turned his head. Standing there frozen, with a look of shock on her face, was a tiny Chikorita. She had not seen him until he had seen her.  
  
"'Hey!' he called out to her before she could run away, 'Wait! Please, can you help me?' This was it. This Pokémon was his salvation. The Chikorita would easily be able to pick him up with her vines and carry him back to shore.  
  
"The Chikorita simply stood there, unsure of how to react to this strange situation. It was clear, even from afar, that the Chikorita was young and quite meek. Her fear of Firedancer was quite valid. Getting no response, Firedancer called out once again. 'Please? I am trapped here and cannot get back to shore! Can you please help me?'  
  
"The Chikorita shook her head, and adopted a more serious expression. 'N-no!' she called back. Firedancer was quite taken aback. 'What?!' he called back in disbelief, 'I will die if you do not help me! Would you truly leave me to die and just walk away?'  
  
"'You are a predator, and I am prey!' the Chikorita explained, 'We are enemies! If you were not in this predicament, then you would be trying to eat me. The fact that you are trapped there is the only thing keeping me safe from you at this time. I am not a fool. I do not wish my life to end yet, and so I will take this chance and not look back.' She then turned around and prepared to dash off."  
  
"'Wait!!' Firedancer called, making her pause and turn back to look at him. He frowned and gave her a pleading look. 'Please, I am desperate! I as well do not wish to die. I want to continue to live. Please, will you not reconsider?'"  
  
Roxy turned and gave Taka a sidelong glance. This was all sounding familiar. She saw that Taka was watching, but still wore that scowl on his face.  
  
"'What if I do choose to help you?' the Chikorita shouted back, 'What then? You will have been brought directly to me, and then you will eat me.' Firedancer frowned. 'Can you not carry me to the opposite side?' The Chikorita shook her head and said, 'No, I cannot reach, and I cannot climb trees.'  
  
"Firedancer sighed and shook his head as well. 'You have nothing to fear, young one. As I have said, I am desperate for help. I am pleading for your help. Did you really expect that I would simply eat you after swallowing my pride like this? No, but if it will ease your mind to hear it from me, then I promise you. I promise that I will not harm you, I will not kill you, and I will not eat you. So long as you help me, you have my eternal gratitude.'  
  
"This did indeed cause the Chikorita to pause. There was a truly genuine feel to the words that Firedancer spoke. The Chikorita was still young and naïve, perhaps a bit idyllic. She asked him to repeat himself and he did. She asked him to look directly in his eyes and he did. It took some time, but Firedancer eventually won the Chikorita's trust. She had heard his solemn promise to leave her unharmed.  
  
"So, at last, the Chikorita agreed to help. She extended her vines as far as she could, wrapped them tightly around Firedancer's body, and slowly carried him back to shore. Firedancer was so grateful when his paws once again touched solid ground. He was so happy and relieved. He thanked the heavens for leading the Chikorita to him. The two smiled at one another, and thankful words were exchanged. It almost seemed as if, just maybe, a friendship had been born.  
  
"The Chikorita smiled and nodded at Firedancer's words of gratitude. With that, she turned around and began to walk away. Not two seconds later, Firedancer raised his paw into the air and brought it down, slashing her neck."  
  
Roxy gasped loudly, her paws darting up to cover her mouth. Her blood ran cold as vile images of the Chikorita's sudden murder filled her mind. She had been happily enjoying the story, and had been smiling at the nice way things had turned out. Now it felt like she had been punched right in the gut.  
  
Ignis wore a serious expression, as did most of the gathered tribe members, though none of them were looking at the Pikachu. They were still focused on the burning effigy. "Firedancer brought home his kill," Ignis spoke solemnly, "The tribe ate well that night."  
  
Roxy quivered.  
  
"Firedancer did not tell his tribemates about what had happened to him. For all they knew, the Chikorita was simply a Pokémon he had hunted and killed. Firedancer went to sleep that night with a full and satisfied belly."  
  
Ignis allowed a moment of silence to pass before continuing. "When morning arrived," he said, speaking in a slow and somewhat eerie tone, "he noticed that there was still blood on his paws. This was strange, as he recalled having cleaned himself off last night before going to sleep. With a shrug, though, he got up and made his way over to the small watering hole near where his tribe lived.  
  
"Firedancer dipped one of his paws into the water. A horrible, blood-curdling scream erupted from his throat as he yanked his paw back out, and he fell to the ground writhing in pain."  
  
The gathered Fire-Types suddenly engulfed the effigy in a powerful stream of fire, making it burn even brighter. The flames grew quickly, becoming massive and furious. Roxy could only stare up at it with a stunned look.  
  
"As unimaginable pain rippled through his right paw, a few light wisps of steam could be seen in the air. His paw had been burned, as if plunged directly into an open flame. The fur was charred black, the skin a disgusting mess. Firedancer, brave and strong though he was, could only howl in pain unendingly.  
  
"His companions heard his cries and found him quickly. When asked what had happened, Firedancer could only point to the watering hole. None could see a problem, though, not even Firedancer. The water looked clean and untainted, and nothing appeared any different about the spot itself. A few twigs and leaves were dipped in the water, but nothing happened. Eventually, one very brave Pokémon dipped his tail into the water. To Firedancer's shock and the tribe's confusion, still nothing happened.  
  
"Firedancer was taken back to his tribe to heal, but the pain was unbearable. What few treatments were available did not work at all. Nothing could abate the searing pain. His friends and loved ones gathered around, trying to ease his agony, but the pain only seemed to get worse.   
  
"His tribemates were very confused and quite concerned. They needed to find an answer. A thousand questions were asked, but Firedancer could only repeat what had happened. No-one came close to an explanation. Eventually, some started to wonder if he had been cursed by a wandering spirit Pokémon, so they asked him what had happened the day before. Firedancer continued to lie and hide the fact that he had tricked the Chikorita into saving his life. Eventually though, the pain became too much to handle and he revealed the truth to everyone.  
  
"The moment the words left his lips, the pain vanished. His paw remained charred, mangled, and completely useless, but it no longer hurt."  
  
Roxy gasped as the wood forming the effigy suddenly started to collapse. The fire had burned through it and ruined its stability, and now crumbled to the ground into a flaming heap.   
  
"The tribe took this as an omen," Ignis spoke in a low voice, "Some believed that Arceus had been watching this exchange between Firedancer and the Chikorita. Others believed that it was not a Chikorita at all, but a spirit or even Arceus itself in disguise. The tribe saw that Firedancer's duplicitous actions had angered the greater powers. It was his lies, his deceit, and his shameless backstabbing that had caused the water to boil and burn his paw. Firedancer had gotten lucky and escaped with his life, but none of the others wanted to press their luck, lest something even worse happen."  
  
Ignis glanced down at the burning pile of wood, which was starting to simmer and fizzle out. "Firedancer was cast out by his tribe, banished from their territory and left to fend for himself. Those who remained made a solemn vow to never repeat his actions. A promise to speak truthfully, uphold pledges, keep their word, and place value above all else in honour. Each one of them painted their right paws black, to serve as a permanent reminder of what could happen to them if they broke this vow."  
  
The gathered Fire-Types all stepped towards the pile of burning ash that had once been the effigy. Each one, Ignis included, lifted their paws and placed them on the ash, making it look as if each of them had been burned by the fire that had once been there.  
  
A solemn, almost eerie silence prevailed.  
  
"…Wooooowww…!" Roxy murmured in awe.  
  
Vi grinned at her and walked back over to sit next to her. "Did you enjoy our story?"  
  
"That was wonderful!" Roxy replied, "I think I got chills. What a great story!"  
  
Ignis walked over as well and sat a fair distance from her. "It is not often we get to share our tribe's story with strangers."  
  
"That was amazing!" Roxy said to him, "Vi was right, you're a great storyteller!"  
  
Ignis smiled and nodded graciously.  
  
"So that's, like…" Roxy continued, "Like, a legend you all pass down? Like a fable?"  
  
"We base everything around it," Vi replied, "and it has served us well. We are a bountiful tribe with few enemies. Fortune often smiles upon us, even when it seems impossible."  
  
"Generations have come, and generations have gone," Ignis added, "but we continue the ways of honour and righteousness. None of us have ever seen a reason to believe otherwise."  
  
Roxy was smiling brightly now, thoroughly fascinated by what she had just seen and heard. It was just something else to add to the list of things she never knew wild Pokémon did. What if Pokémon biologists could see _this_?! Roxy realized that, in a way, this tribe had formed a sort of human-like religion. It was a belief system that they all seemed to live by, unquestioning.   
  
Whatever seeds of doubt that had remained in Roxy's mind, they were all gone now. No-one could come up with such an elaborate and complex fable just so that they could trick a couple of Pikachu. Roxy knew that religion could be a powerful force. Some humans did some _really_ wild things because of their religion, after all.  
  
"Is that story true?" Roxy asked.  
  
"None can say for absolute certain," Vi replied, "but we all choose to believe it is."  
  
"Even if it is not," Ignis added, "the message is the same. We may be predators, but that does not mean we have to be evil. That does not mean we have to forego the basic rights and respects of every living creature on this planet."  
  
"Wow!" Roxy gushed, "That's so interesting. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Isn't this amazing, Taka?"  
  
She turned to look at her companion, hoping to see at least a little bit of intrigue or even just a little less cynicism and suspicion. Instead, she only saw that he had the very same miserable scowl on his muzzle. His forelimbs were crossed and he was still keeping a close eye on all of those that surrounded him.  
  
Roxy sighed in frustration and pouted. "C'mon, Taka. Didn't you find it interesting?"  
  
He didn't reply, so Roxy just shook her head.  
  
"We appreciate your kind words, Roxy," Ignis said, "even if he has none. To each their own."  
  
Roxy shrugged. "Sorry."  
  
"No need to be sorry, cutie," Vi said as she suddenly sidled up right next to her, "I am glad you enjoyed it. I like the way the fire was dancing in your eyes when you were watching so intently."  
  
"Heh… You burned down your…statue…thing."  
  
Vi nodded. "And we shall build another."  
  
"Really? You do that every time you tell the story?"  
  
"Every time."  
  
"Wow… Well, in any case, I think you and your tribe are great. You are very welcoming and you have such a strong sense of right and wrong. It's so…refreshing."  
  
Vi smiled brightly. "Ah, you flatter me…" She then glanced up at the sky. "It is getting quite late. Come, and I shall show you where you two can sleep tonight."  
  
"Okay!" Roxy and Vi both stood up, and then Roxy started to follow Vi as she turned and headed off. After a few steps, they both paused and turned around. Taka was still standing there with his forelimbs crossed, glaring.  
  
"Your friend does a marvellous impression of a boulder," Vi quipped.  
  
Roxy snickered. "Boulders don't grump like he does." They both shared a laugh together and then Roxy beckoned to Taka. "C'mon, Taka! Don't be silly. Come what may, we should both still stick together."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. That seemed to be his only remaining sense of communication.  
  
"Yes, I want you to stick with me, and not the other way around. C'mon already."  
  
A sense of déjà vu washed over Roxy as Taka once again stood staring at them for a few silent seconds, then finally relented and began to follow. Roxy just shook her head in exasperation as Vi continued to lead them away.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"So, Ignis…" Roxy said.  
  
Vi turned to look at her, and suddenly Roxy felt her stomach drop.  
  
"I, er, I mean…Um…Lord Ignis?" she said nervously.  
  
"Oh, no need for that," Vi said comfortingly, "He is lord of our tribe, but you are not in our tribe." She lifted a couple of her tails and gently patted Roxy's back with them.  
  
"Ah. Okay, right," Roxy said, breathing a silent sigh of relief. Secure though she may have felt in this village, a faux pas was the last thing she wanted to let slip.  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"Is he your father?" Roxy asked.  
  
"Ah, well…" Vi said, her voice dropping to a murmur as she glanced off to the side. For a few moments, Roxy was afraid she had hit a nerve. It was the first time she had seen Vi look distressed like this, even through the time she had been in the pit. Roxy was about to apologize, but Vi continued. "I lost my father when I was very young. I barely remember him, and I _never_ knew my mother. Ignis is simply the one who looked after me as I grew up. Now that I am fully grown, we no longer have such a connection."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Roxy said sympathetically. Then she added, "Really? You don't still see him as a father figure?"  
  
Vi shrugged disinterestedly. "Perhaps," she offered, "It matters not though. He simply sees me as another member of the tribe."  
  
"That…doesn't sound very nice," Roxy said with a frown.  
  
"Here we are!" Vi suddenly interjected in a cheery tone.  
  
"Huh? Oh!"  
  
Vi had brought the two of them to a small hole in the side of a hill. While the entrance was small, the inside seemed to be dug out quite a bit. "This is my den," she announced with a smile, "No worries, there is plenty room for the three of us in there."  
  
Roxy stepped forward and poked her head in slightly. "I've never slept in a cave before…" she mused.  
  
"Well, a cave is made of rocks. This is dirt, so it is a den."  
  
"Ah, right you are. Sorry."  
  
"I am happy you like it, though."  
  
"Is it warm inside during the night?" Roxy asked, wondering if the surrounding dirt would make the inside warmer or cooler. Her scientific knowledge wasn't the best.  
  
Vi laughed softly and then gave Roxy a smirk. "I can keep you as warm as you like, cutie."  
  
Roxy blinked. "I, uh…"  
  
"We are not sleeping in there."  
  
Both Vi and Roxy jumped slightly upon hearing Taka's voice. It had been so long since he had said _any_ thing, they had almost forgotten he was there.  
  
"What?" Roxy rebutted, "Why not?"  
  
"Because I said we are not," he replied firmly.   
  
"Taka, Vi is being such a gracious host. Don't just spit in her hospitality!"  
  
Taka gave her a glare that actually made her pause and shiver a little.  
  
"Oh dear," Vi said softly from the sidelines, "I do hate a lover's spat." When Taka gave her a glare as well, she just stuck her tongue out at him. "It looks like you two have issues to work out, so I will give you some space." She turned and crawled into the den, but paused right before disappearing from view and gave Roxy a look over her shoulder. "Try not to keep me waiting long…"  
  
Taka didn't even wait for her to completely leave before speaking. "Roxy, I have followed you on this ridiculous detour this far, but we are not sleeping in a predator's den in a predator's village next to a predator."  
  
"Are you kidding me, Taka? Don't you think they would have done something by now if they were going to eat us? Didn't you hear that amazing story? You think they did all that just so they could trick a few measly Pikachu and get a tiny meal?"  
  
"I am not letting you sleep in a predator's den," Taka said, remaining firm.  
  
Roxy was silent for a few seconds. "…You're not ' _letting_ ' me?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"So I need your permission now? Am I some sort of property to you? Am I your slave? What's that supposed to mean?" she said to him, growing slowly angrier with every word she spoke.  
  
"Roxy-"  
  
"No, no," she cut him off, "You're not gonna _let_ me. What shall I do for you, _master_? Walk a thousand miles in the middle of the night, driving myself to exhaustion just so we can get out of this situation that you think is dangerous even though it so _clearly_ isn't?"  
  
Taka paused for a few moments before replying in a calm voice. "Roxy…I am not letting you do this because I _can't_." When she gave him a confused look, he sighed softly and said, "I promised him."  
  
It took a few moments for the meaning of his words to dawn on her, and in an instant all of her anger was washed away.  
  
"I already feel like I am letting him down," Taka added, "because I could not convince you to keep walking and ignore her. Roxy, you are taking such a huge, unnecessary risk! You are too trusting of these Pokémon. No matter what they say, remember who they are under their skin. Who their blood tells them to be. Their very souls." He closed his eyes. "I promised him…but I cannot keep that promise if you do not listen to me…"  
  
Roxy remained silent for a few moments as she drank this in. "You…" she whispered, "His last words…Y-you still…?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
A soft smile graced her lips. "Taka…"  
  
"You are making it _very_ difficult."  
  
Roxy sighed. "I get where you're coming from. It's not like I haven't thought about it myself. Yeah, there's still this little part of me that's terrified I'm gonna be wrong and any moment now we're going to be swarmed and killed…But I trust her. I looked into her eyes and I trust her. The whole tribe seems really respectful to us and devoted to their beliefs." She paused and shuffled her paws. "I mean, I think even if the tribe does turn on us, I get the strange feeling that Vi still wouldn't."  
  
Taka's grumpy look had returned.  
  
"Anyway," Roxy continued before Taka could say anything else, "It doesn't matter now. We're here, aren't we? It would be suicide to go off on our own now. You know that, don't you?"  
  
Though he grumbled softly under his breath, Taka did nod.  
  
"Right," Roxy affirmed, "The best we can do now is to be ready to act if the need arises, even though I'm sure it won't. You're already so amazing and strong that I know you'll be able to do that at the drop of a hat!"  
  
"You are not sleeping in that den."  
  
Roxy nearly facepawed, and she groaned in exasperation. "Taka, they took their meat and hid it away when we showed up so that we wouldn't feel uncomfortable. We're clearly not the first prey that has come to visit them like this!"  
  
Taka merely crossed his forepaws and gave her yet another stern look.  
  
So, Roxy gave him one right back. "I'm sleeping in the den," she said with a tone of finality, "Not only do I think it's comparatively safer, but it's warmer and a lot more comfortable than being in a tree." When Taka didn't relent, she sighed. "If you want," she said, "You can stand 'guard' outside the den. Right here. If you hear me screaming my head off, then you'll be at my side in a flash. Am I wrong?"  
  
"…"  
  
"And that way you can keep an eye on all the others too. Does that sound like a plan to you?" She stared at him, expecting a response of some kind, but didn't get any. Sighing once more, she pinched the bridge of her muzzle and shook her head. "I'm tired," she stated, "I'm going to bed now. Goodnight."  
  
Then, without waiting for any kind of response whatsoever, Roxy promptly turned around and marched into the den. Taka didn't follow her.


	30. Old Wounds

Roxy entered the den with a huff, still shaking her head over how ridiculous Taka was acting.  
  
While the entrance had been rather small, the inside of the den had been dug out quite expansively. For a hole in the side of a hill, it was surprisingly roomy. The 'ceiling' was high enough that Roxy didn't need to duck her head.  
  
"Lover's spat?"  
  
Roxy turned to look in the direction of the voice, and saw Vi sitting near one of the far walls with a smirk on her face. In front of her was a small collection of twigs that was burning softly, providing just a touch of light to the dark cave. "Something like that…" Roxy murmured.  
  
Vi snickered in a teasing way, and then motioned with her paw for Roxy to sit down. The Pikachu obliged, and sat staring at the fire for a couple of seconds. "Most of us can see in the dark," Vi said, "so we do not usually require this. Wake me up if the whole den catches fire, okay?"  
  
"Mm…" Roxy muttered as she continued to gaze at the fire.  
  
"Hey. Come on now, cutie. Upset is not a good look for you."  
  
Roxy glanced over at the Vulpix. She wanted to cheer up, truly she did, but she just felt too annoyed at Taka to do so.   
  
Vi had been giving her a little smirk, but then her expression softened a bit and she started to talk in a more calm, serious tone. "There is no need to be mad, Roxy. I understand his hesitations. If I had a traveling companion that I was close to, I would want to keep them safe too. It is obvious that he cares about you, and wants to guide you to wherever you are going safely."  
  
Roxy sighed. "I just wish I could talk to him, but he makes it so hard. When he makes a decision, it's impossible to change his mind."  
  
"Now who would want to ignore a voice like yours?"  
  
"Heh…" Roxy chuckled half-heartedly, "I do hate being the voice of reason, sometimes."  
  
Vi snickered for some reason.  
  
"If he would just look you in the eyes, he would know," Roxy lamented.  
  
"I was very impressed when you asked me to do that," Vi commented, "It truly is a great way to see if someone is lying or not. I am glad I was able to convince you, though. It brings me great satisfaction to repay my debt with you, and also I like you, and it makes me happy to help you get closer to your goal."  
  
Finally, Roxy managed to smile. "Thanks, Vi," she said, "Your tribe really is wonderful. The world would be a better place if more people and more Pokémon were like you…" She continued to gaze at the fire, transfixed by the subtle way it danced and jumped on the small pile of twigs. "If only Taka could see it, he might be able to relax."  
  
"Oh, forget him," Vi said dismissively, "If he wants to stand out there and pout, let him. I wanted to be hospitable but, truthfully, it would be crowded in here with three."  
  
"I guess that's true."  
  
"Some Pokémon like him are just stuck in their ways. They do not want to let themselves be happy, and so they just sit in their own misery. No need to let his mood cloud the good time we could be having."  
  
"He _has_ been through an awful lot…" Roxy said, thinking of what had happened on Taka's last journey.  
  
"The night will be over before you know it, and it will not take long in the morning to reach the other side of our territory. Though I wish you and I could spend a lot more time together, it will at least make him happy. Forget about him for now, though. Right now it is just the two of us, snuggled up cozy together in my den."  
  
Roxy lifted her head and furrowed her brow. Something in the back of her mind had been bugging her since meeting Vi, and now it was becoming more prominent. "Vi, are you-?"  
  
As she turned her head to regard the Vulpix, her train of thought came to a screeching halt when she saw just how close Vi had gotten to her. She hadn't noticed Vi apparently sidling up until she was sitting right next to her, and the Vulpix was now looking into her eyes with a half-lidded gaze and a suave-looking grin. It was almost…a predatory sort of look. Before Roxy could say or do anything else, Vi suddenly darted forward…  
  
…and kissed her right on the lips.  
  
Roxy's eyes shot open so wide she thought her eyes would pop right out. Her whole body stiffened up as the Vulpix pressed forward eagerly, even lifting up a paw to lightly press against Roxy's chest. Roxy tried to figure out just what in the world was going on, but it was hard to do that with her brain short-circuiting so much.  
  
When Vi broke the kiss and moved back, she continued to give Roxy a smile that the Pikachu could now identify as 'sultry'. Roxy was left stunned, wobbling slightly like a drunken Wobbuffet with a bewildered expression on her face. Her jaw hung open slightly and her head was swimming.  
  
Vi continued to look at her with that provocative look on her face, waggling her eyebrows a little. Her eyes were narrowed like a predator's, but in a different sort of 'predatory' way. Behind her, a few of her six tails were twitching eagerly, but she sat there and patiently waited.  
  
At first, all Roxy could do was blink her eyes every so often as her brain rebooted. It took her a few moments to piece together what had just happened, a few more moments to analyze it, and even more time just to kick her motor skills back into gear. She must have sat there for a good couple of minutes before she finally had the ability to reply.  
  
Instead of words, Roxy started to sob and cry.  
  
Vi's expression changed in an instant. Her suave, confident grin was replaced by a shocked and concerned frown. All traces of seduction disappeared as if they had never been there. She stared at Roxy in confusion for a few moments while Roxy simply let out stifled sobs.  
  
"Goodness…" Vi spoke in a quiet voice, "There were _quite_ a number of ways I thought this would turn out…This was not one of them…"  
  
Roxy wiped her eyes with her forepaw and turned to regard Vi through her tear-filled eyes. She wanted to reply, but all that came out was another sob.  
  
"Oh, sweetie…Come here…" Vi shuffled back over, but this time all she did was wrap her forepaws around Roxy in a warm, comforting hug. "Please accept my apology. I did not mean to upset you."  
  
Roxy returned the hug earnestly, finding Vi's body to be very warm to the touch. That was to be expected, considering she was a Fire-Type.  
  
"I am so sorry," Vi repeated, "I should not have…I thought you were cute and I figured I would just take a chance and see what happened. I did not think I would upset you this much, but I should have-"  
  
"No," Roxy interrupted, shaking her head. She moved back, ending her embrace with the Vulpix, and sat up straight. She wiped her eyes once more and took a calming breath before speaking again. "No, I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all weepy. It's not your fault."  
  
Vi frowned and tilted her head. "Of course it is my fault. I clearly overstepped a boundary…"  
  
Roxy shook her head again. "It's fine…It surprised me, but really it's…" Roxy paused, and then let out a heavy sigh. "It just…reminded me of the one I love…"  
  
Vi gave her a surprised look. "What?" she asked, confused, "I thought you told me you and Taka were not mates."  
  
"No, no…We're not," Roxy replied, "It's…his brother."  
  
"Oh," Vi said, nodding her head in understanding, "I see. I am sorry, I assumed some things that were not true. I did not realize that you had a mate who was elsewhere."  
  
Roxy lowered her head and stared at the ground. "He's dead."  
  
The silence that followed was heavy. "…Oh…" Vi finally muttered, "Oh dear…Truly?"  
  
Roxy nodded. "He was killed…"  
  
Vi didn't say anything at that, and Roxy found out why a moment later as she was swept up in another comforting hug. The two remained like that for quite some time, just silently embracing. Roxy didn't really cry any more, but she did feel as heavy as a rock. She didn't so much hug back, as she did simply lay there for Vi to hold up.  
  
Finally, after heavens knew how long, Vi propped Roxy back up into a sitting position and sat down in front of her. She offered a kind, consoling smile and said, "Talk to me."  
  
Roxy's lip quivered, and at first it felt like more tears were going to come the minute she started talking. But, after she took a few minutes to calm herself, she started to tell the rest of her story to Vi. She talked about growing closer to Makari, her budding feelings for him, falling in love, and then ultimately losing him. It didn't take her as long as she had thought it would, which was a rather bitter thought.  
  
"He sounds wonderful," Vi said once Roxy had reached the end of her tale.  
  
"He was so wonderful…"  
  
"I am…very sorry for your loss…" Vi bit her lip and glanced off to the side a little. "Did…they ever find out what caused his…passing?"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "Not exactly."  
  
"Oh, I see…"  
  
There was a moment of slightly awkward silence.  
  
Roxy then sighed. "It's taken me so long just to get over the fact that I lost him…So long to stop feeling like nothing would ever make me happy again. But, it's just…Well, since I lost him, I haven't had another Pokémon to sleep next to, haven't had another kiss…I haven't had a lot of things, really…Since I lost him, I didn't think I would ever have them again."  
  
Vi turned back towards her.  
  
"So when you…It just…"  
  
The Vulpix nodded in understanding. "Even though I am not him, I reminded you in a… _very_ direct way of what you had lost."  
  
Roxy sighed yet again. "Yeah, that…"  
  
"Well, again, I am very sorry. I did not mean to dredge up such sad feelings."  
  
"It's not your fault," Roxy repeated.   
  
"I am supposed to be repaying my debt to you, not creating more…"  
  
"Oh, don't worry about it. Really."  
  
Another moment of silence passed, but this one was distinctly less awkward. Roxy was already starting to feel better. The sad moment had passed by, having done its damage.  
  
"If…you do not mind me asking…" Vi said, breaking the silence.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
Vi gave her a coy grin. "Was he a good kisser?"  
  
Roxy immediately blushed. "I, er- Uh…"  
  
"Ah, you look so adorable when you blush! Please! My heart!"  
  
This only served to make Roxy blush even more. "I dunno, I…" She glanced to the side, fidgeting with her forepaws, before looking back at Vi again. The Vulpix looked like she was patiently waiting for an answer, even if it wasn't a serious one. She worried that talking about kissing and Makari was just going to make her cry all over again, but she started to think about the subject and found that wasn't happening.  
  
"I- Sure. Sure, he was," Roxy answered, speaking quickly.   
  
"Better than me?"  
  
Roxy gave Vi a flustered look, while Vi just gave her a cheeky smile in return. Roxy grumbled a little and glanced away, and the den fell silent for a minute or two. Then, Roxy spoke up once more. "You know…? Sorry, but yeah. He was."  
  
"Oooooh~"  
  
"Oh, don't 'ooo' me…"  
  
Vi smiled and shook her head. "No, I understand completely. It is different."  
  
"Heh, yeah…Sort of." A small but genuine smile graced Roxy's lips. Talking about it like this, now Roxy was starting to remember Makari fondly instead of sorrowfully. It was strange to her that her mood had turned around so quickly, but she wasn't about to question it. Just talking about Makari and the way he kissed her was more like reminiscing, which was a lot easier on her damaged heart.  
  
Roxy glanced over at Vi again. "Did, uh…" she started.  
  
Vi tilted her head.  "Hm? Did I what?"  
  
Roxy was blushing again. "Did you really think…I was…cute?"  
  
A big, warm smile accompanied her answer. "Of course, cutie. From the first moment I saw you, even though I was down in that hole and you were drenched with rain. I do not think I have ever seen a Pikachu as good-looking as you."  
  
"Erm…" Roxy was flustered for a moment before she spoke again. "So, you're actually…like, attracted to me?"  
  
Vi nodded and said, "I cannot tell a lie to you."  
  
Then, Roxy frowned. "But, what about that Flareon? I thought you…Weren't you…" Roxy fumbled a little over the next word. "…flirting with her?"  
  
"Who, Fina?" Vi replied, "Oh yes, of course. She is a gorgeous piece of tail." Vi closed her eyes and looked blissful for a second. "That tail is so warm and fluffy…"  
  
Roxy's frazzled, blushing look returned. "So, why're you…y'know, kissing me? Aren't you and Fina, like, y'know…mates or something?"  
  
Vi actually snickered at that. "No," she said flatly. She let out an airy laugh before adding, "If I think someone is cute, I want to pursue them. See where the night leads?" She laid down on the ground and stretched her forepaws out, letting out a satisfied sigh before she relaxed and rested her head on top of her paws. "Having a mate is not something I am interested in pursuing. I am too wild for that."  
  
Roxy simply looked at her, not quite knowing what to say.  
  
"Stop blushing like that," Vi said in a mock scolding tone, "You are too adorable for me."  
  
Frowning, Roxy glanced away and tried to hide the burning glow in her cheeks.  
  
More silence passed before Vi spoke up once more. "Can I be serious for a moment?" she asked, without a hint of her previous sass, "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
Roxy glanced at her and then shrugged. "I guess."  
  
"You shared a wonderful love with an amazing Pokémon…" she spoke in a slow, gentle voice, "but, sadly, life took him away from you. It is taking you some time to get over the shock of this, and I can understand that." Vi paused for a moment. "But…Well, how can I say this…? I guess, to put it simply…Are you ever going to kiss another?"  
  
"What…?" Roxy asked, frowning. She was both saddened and perplexed by Vi's question.  
  
"It is obvious that Makari made you very happy, but are you going to deny yourself that kind of happiness for the rest of your life?"  
  
"I…" Roxy trailed off, stumbling over her words. She was confused as to what had suddenly brought this up. "I…I don't know…I mean, I loved him…"  
  
"Of course," Vi said, "I do not think anything will ever change that, right?"  
  
Roxy nodded demurely.  
  
"But, well…Life is short, even if you do make it to old age…"  
  
"What're you saying?" Roxy said as she frowned and started to feel flustered, "If you're just tryin' to kiss me again, stop it. I loved Makari and only him, but he's gone now, so I-"  
  
"Shhh, shhhh…" Vi soothed, holding up a paw until Roxy quieted down, "There is no need to get upset. I was not trying to suggest anything." She lowered her paw and gave Roxy a sad smile. "I just hate to see you like this, missing out on things in life simply because fate was cruel."  
  
Roxy crossed her forepaws and turned her head away from Vi, pouting and frowning.  
  
"I am not suggesting you 'forget' Makari, or 'move past' him or anything like that. I apologize if that is what came across, though I did not intend it. I can see that you still love him. You will always love him, right up until the day when your time comes as well."  
  
"Mmmn…" Roxy's frown shrank a little.  
  
"Just…try to keep an open mind, okay?" Vi said, "Something does not always have to mean something else."  
  
Roxy could only sigh in response. She didn't want to be mad at Vi. The Vulpix had been nothing but pleasant and kind to her, even aside from that sudden, awkward kiss.   
  
"Okay, cutie?"  
  
"Yeah…Okay…" Roxy said, turning to face Vi once more. She couldn't quite bring herself to smile, but she didn't feel as upset anymore.   
  
Vi smiled instead, and patted a spot near the fire that was closer to her. "Come over here," she said in a soft, inviting tone.  
  
Roxy nodded and shuffled a little closer. The fire seemed warmer in this new spot.  
  
"Just relax, okay?"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Morning arrived and Roxy greeted the day with a stretch and a smile. She felt totally refreshed, and the rays of sunlight filtering down through the trees were a welcome sight that made her feel energized. After a nice, relaxing sleep, she felt like she was ready to run all the way home without stopping.  
  
She had already shared a small breakfast of berries with Vi. The Vulpix had been gone when Roxy had first awoken, but arrived moments later as if on cue and carrying a small bushel of Orans. It was a nice meal and the two enjoyed each other's company. Now, Roxy was stepping up to the mouth of the den with Vi following behind.  
  
It was like a fresh explosion of sunlight when she exited the tunnel. Like a flower blooming in the springtime, she burst out from under the ground with a radiant smile. Roxy couldn't remember the last time she had felt this good, or this optimistic, about her future.   
  
Some of the other Fire-Types in nearby dens were waking up as well, and most of them gave her and Vi a friendly wave. Roxy smiled and waved back to each of them, barely even thinking about the fact that they were all predators. For now, it was just a close-knit tribe of friendly Pokémon.  
  
Vi stepped up beside her and giggled. "Your fur is all messy," she said.  
  
Roxy glanced at her, then busily tried to brush down the fur on her head. "It's just bedhead. It's not like I have a brush out here."  
  
The Vulpix giggled at her again. "Come on," she said as she stepped past, "We should get going soon. Get that cute butt moving."  
  
Roxy's cheeks flushed with colour, and she knew Vi was silently chuckling to herself as she walked down the hill away from the den. She shook her head good-naturedly at Vi's antics. Like the Gaia Tribe before, she was going to miss this group of Pokémon once they moved on. That said, she still wanted to get going as soon as possible. Home was getting closer and closer.  
  
First, though, she needed to find her traveling companion. He wasn't standing at the mouth of the cave, like she had expected, so she started looking in all directions for him.  
  
"Up here."  
  
Roxy nearly jumped out of her skin and spun around on the spot. Taka was sitting down on the hill above the den's entrance. She and Vi had passed right under him without even noticing. "Oh," she said once her heart slowed down, "There you are. C'mon, let's get going."  
  
Taka swiftly hopped down and stood beside her. "Best news I have heard in a while."  
  
Roxy gave him a disapproving look and was about to yet again reprimand his bad attitude. Her words died on her tongue however, and her frown was replaced with a concerned look.   
  
He saw that she was looking at him, and turned his gaze at her. "What?"  
  
"Taka…Did you stay up _all_ night??"  
  
She knew what the answer was even before he said 'yes'. There were noticeable dark circles under his eyes, and his ears and tail were drooping just slightly. He was doing his best not to let it show, but anyone could see just from a single glance that Taka was utterly exhausted.  
  
"…Taka, what the hell?" Roxy blurted out, "Why did you do that?"  
  
"To keep watch," he said simply.  
  
"Keep watch for what? Bad dreams?"  
  
Taka gave her what she could only describe as an exasperated look.  
  
"Oh dear Arceus, seriously…?" Roxy said, "I wasn't _serious_ when I suggested you just stand out there and stay on guard. Why didn't you just come and sleep in the den? Or you could have just slept in a tree or something."  
  
"I was keeping you safe."  
  
Roxy's eye twitched. "I _was_ safe. In the den. With Vi."  
  
"Thank heavens for good fortune, then."  
  
She opened her mouth to respond again, but found she just couldn't. Everything she had to say on the matter, she had already said it all twice. She just couldn't fight against Taka's stubbornness. He still believed that they were in danger, even after everything that had happened with this tribe.   
  
True, the thought had briefly occurred to her that she would be more vulnerable while she slept in the den. After all, she would have been trapped in there with nowhere to run should the impossible happen and the tribe were to turn on her. That was obviously why Taka had felt the need to stand guard. Even so, if he had felt that strongly about it, he could have asked her to take the second shift like they usually did. She would have been annoyed, but she would have done it.  
  
Hell, Roxy had complete faith that Taka would be able to stand guard _while he was asleep_. She had seen him wake up at the tiniest sound, quieter than a pin dropping, before. There was no good reason for him to have starved himself of sleep like this.  
  
After a few moments of flustered stammering, Roxy finally threw up her forepaws in defeat and let out a frustrated sigh. "Just…come on, you big idiot…" she said before promptly marching off in the direction Vi had gone. Taka wordlessly followed behind her.   
  
They caught up to Vi not long afterwards. After she attempted and failed to say a pleasant 'good morning' to Taka, she instructed them to climb onto her back again and they did. A few moments later, Ignis approached them.  
  
"Good morning Vi, and to you two as well," he greeted them, "I see that you are off to fulfill your promise, young one."  
  
Vi nodded respectfully. "I shall be back before the moon rises."  
  
"Very well. Take care not to get into trouble this time."  
  
"I will," Vi replied, getting a bit of a bashful expression.  
  
Ignis then lowered his head down, so that he was closer to eye level with the two Pikachu. "I hope that your stay here was pleasant. I wish the two of you good luck on the rest of your journey, and may the heavens watch over you."  
  
Roxy smiled. "Thank you, sir. This was really nice, and we really appreciate everything Vi is doing for us."  
  
Ignis chuckled and smiled sagely. "We appreciate you giving Vi a chance to keep her word," he said, "Our tribe shall benefit from her selfless actions. Honour is always rewarded somehow."  
  
"Really?" Roxy asked, "So, like, you think this'll give you good karma?"  
  
Both Ignis and Vi blinked and gave her perplexed looks. Clearly, they were not familiar with that word.  
  
"Uhh…" Roxy rubbed the back of her neck as she thought about how to explain this. "Karma is, like, balance in the universe. If you do something nice for someone, that's good karma and it means that something nice will happen to you. But if you do something mean to someone, then you have bad karma and…Well, that's not good."  
  
"Ah. Interesting," Ignis commented, "I suppose that is somewhat similar to our beliefs. Is this a concept that your own tribe has devised?"  
  
Roxy chuckled inwardly and glanced off to the side. "You could say that…"  
  
Ignis nodded. "Well, I will not hold you any longer. Good luck, once again, and…" The corners of his lips turned upwards. "…good karma?"  
  
Roxy and Vi both shared a laugh at that, and then the Ninetales bid them farewell and walked off towards the centre of _the Den_. Roxy found herself smiling, her earlier frustrations forgotten. The experience she'd had in this tribe was nothing short of pleasant. That was something she had never expected from a group of wild predators.  
  
"Well, we should get going," Vi announced, "I promised I would be back before night. It should only take a few hours to reach the northern edge of our territory."  
  
"Cool!" Roxy replied as she settled herself securely on the Vulpix's back, "Lead on!"  
  
Vi set off at a sprint which quickly turned into a run. Roxy held on tightly as the hills and dens passed by on either side of them. Before long, they had passed the last one and _the Den_ was left behind. Vi didn't slow down at all, dashing off into the wilderness like an intrepid explorer.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Well, this is it!"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up. "Huh? Wha? Already?"  
  
Vi snickered. "Yes, cutie. I did say a couple of hours."  
  
"Whoa…" Roxy marvelled. Traveling through the forest without the constant fear of danger and the need to keep an eye out for predators meant that time traveled a lot faster. She glanced around at their surroundings, but obviously there was no physical marker denoting where the Burning Paws territory ended. It just looked like any other part of the forest.  
  
"So, we've made it all the way across your whole territory."  
  
Vi nodded. "Yes. I am not quite sure who lives in this territory…We border so many tribes that I lose track of them all. But yes, this is where the domain of the Burning Paws ends."  
  
"Wow! This is great! We've saved so much time!"  
  
The Vulpix took a few more steps forward and the paused next to a tree. She gave it a few sniffs and then nodded in affirmation.   
  
"Well, I suppose this is it then…" Roxy said in a bittersweet tone.  
  
"Indeed, this is where we must sadly part ways." Vi laughed softly. "If I did not have ties back home, I would consider journeying with you. I sense that adventure is drawn to the two of you."  
  
Roxy leaned forward and hugged the back of Vi's neck. "Well, thank you so much. You have no idea how helpful this has been to us! You-"  
  
"This is your territory's edge?" Taka suddenly spoke up, again breaking a silence that he'd held for the past couple of hours. He deftly hopped off of Vi's back and then stood on the ground giving her an expectant look.  
  
"Erm…" Vi faltered momentarily, "Yes. This is as far north as our territory goes. We do not often hunt past here."  
  
"Good," Taka said tersely, and then addressed Roxy and said, "Let's go."  
  
Roxy gave him a surprised look. "But Taka-"  
  
" _Now!_ "  
  
Both Roxy and Vi were taken aback by his sudden outburst, and gave each other a look of disbelief. Roxy glanced back over at Taka, only to see that he was already walking away.  
  
Her fur bristled. Roxy had felt a lot of wild, turbulent emotions while on this whole escapade; she had been happier than ever before, sad beyond belief, and more terrified than she ever thought possible. This was the first time she had felt like this, however. She could feel, bubbling inside of her like furious lava ready to explode out the top of her head, a sense of growing, unchecked _anger_.  
  
"Taka!!" she shouted loudly while also hopping off of Vi's back, "What is _wrong_ with you?!"  
  
The Pikachu paused and turned back to her, but didn't say anything. He merely crossed his forelimbs again.  
  
"No, seriously!!" Roxy continued to shout, sounding like a very upset teacher, "What's gotten into you?! Why are you being such a huge tool?? Vi and her tribe have been _amazing_ to us! They have treated us with kindness, respect and hospitality, _far_ beyond what they needed to do. Vi has done us a _huge_ favour by running us this far, keeping us safe from being hunted, and cutting out a huge chunk of our already-super-long journey!  
  
"Yet for some stupid reason, you continue to act like a prick! I know you didn't trust her at first, and I get it! It makes sense! This is your home and you're more experienced. But after _everything she has done for us…!_ You're _really_ still going to just spit in her face and walk away?! You're kind of a jerk, but this is not like you! What is your Arceus-damned _problem?!?!_ "  
  
Bird Pokémon could be heard flying away. Roxy had gotten _loud_.  
  
For a moment, Taka just continued to stare at her. He hadn't even flinched. Even Vi, standing nearby, looked a little shaken by Roxy's explosive outburst, but Taka acted like nothing had happened. He just stood there with a cross look on his face, breathing evenly through his nose. As the seconds ticked by Roxy's anger began to subside, but as he continued to stand there without replying she could feel it starting to come back. She was about to yell at him some more when he finally opened his mouth and replied.  
  
"Fine," he said in a relenting sort of tone.  
  
Roxy just arched an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.  
  
He didn't speak right away, though. First he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if he was trying to calm himself. When he looked at her again there was less anger in his expression, but he still looked hardened and serious.  
  
"Do you remember what I told you," he said, "about when I met Izuki?"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up in surprise. She hadn't expected to hear the name of Taka's lost love in this explanation.  
  
"Do you remember how we met?"  
  
"Uhh…" Roxy faltered, trying to remember exactly what she'd been told.  
  
"When I found him, he was under attack. Predators were surrounding him, and I rescued him. Then, I had to nurse him back to health."  
  
"Right…" Roxy said with a nod. She did recall now that he had told her this. She didn't get why Taka was bringing it up, though.   
  
Taka then turned his gaze towards Vi, who was watching the two with an awkward expression on her face. He glared at her, causing her to frown. "It was them," Taka said, holding out his forelimb and pointing at the Vulpix.  
  
"What?" Roxy and Vi both said at the same time.  
  
"The predators that were attacking my Izuki…was them. The Burning Paws."  
  
Roxy's eyes widened and she gasped softly. There it was. That was the last piece of the puzzle she had been looking for. "Oh…" was all she could think of saying.   
  
Vi turned to look at her with a perplexed look. "Roxy? What is he talking about?"  
  
Taka didn't exactly look like he wanted to talk to her, so Roxy decided to explain. "Izuki was a Pokémon he fell in love with," she said to Vi, "Taka was on a journey when he found Izuki being attacked by predators. He rescued him, the two fell in love, and…"  
  
Roxy and Vi both slowly turned to look at Taka. He was still just standing there, fixing Vi with a very distrustful gaze.  
  
"So, when you first met your love," Vi said to him, "it was by rescuing him from members of my clan who were…hunting him?"  
  
Taka nodded curtly.  
  
"Oh, I see…"  
  
Suddenly, things made a whole lot more sense. It wasn't just Taka's natural aversion to predators that was making him act like this. He had a history with this tribe, however brief it may have been, and it was a sore spot in his memory. Taka had never gone into detail about how bad Izuki's injuries had been, but she did know that Taka had to stay with him while he healed for multiple days.   
  
She started to feel bad. Without knowing it, she had dragged Taka right into the heart of his own personal enemies. They were the ones who could have prevented him from falling in love with Izuki at all. If Roxy had to be taken to a formal dinner with some rich human who had tried to hit her master, even if they behaved themselves, she probably wouldn't have felt very good about the situation either.  
  
"Taka, why didn't you tell me?" Roxy asked, "You could've said something right at the beginning, or after we got her out of the hole, or…"  
  
Taka simply glanced off to the side, causing Roxy to sigh. She didn't really know what to say, and so she looked over at Vi, hoping she might have some insight.  
  
"Well…" Vi said somewhat awkwardly, and then cleared her throat. "I suppose that is not an impossible scenario. It is quite a fascinating coincidence, though? Right?" Vi glanced at both Pikachu with a strained smile on her face. When no-one smiled back, she sighed and frowned.  
  
"Okay," she said, "I can see why you are upset. I would be upset too. I was not a part of that hunting group so I do not know exactly what happened, but it sounds like a couple of Burning Paws came across your mate and attacked." She skewed her lips. "We live by honour and value our word whenever it is necessary, but that does not mean we extend this humility to every Pokémon. There is still a natural order to things. We still must eat to survive."  
  
Taka started giving her a furious glare, so she quickly backpedaled. "Well, either way…It does not matter, Taka. Right? If I understand you correctly, you and your love managed to escape from our hunters, right? Though they tried to, they did not kill Izuki. Right?"  
  
Taka hesitated for a few moments, but then nodded curtly.  
  
"Well then, it all works out. You and your love escaped from us and got to share your happiness with one another, and now I have kept you safe from our hunters as my gratitude to you. At the end of the day, there is no spilled blood between us."  
  
"Y-yeah, Taka," Roxy said, though she cursed herself for being unable to keep a small stutter out of her voice, "It's fine. Vi is not the one who tried to attack Izuki. It probably wasn't Ignis either, right? And, like Vi said, those other Burning Paws were not being cruel or evil…they were just trying to survive, right? It's not like Kazaka or Tazoka…"  
  
Taka stared at her in silence, then glanced over at Vi. After about a minute of very tense silence, he turned his head to address her once more. "Come," he said tersely, "Let's go."  
  
Roxy slumped and frowned. "Taka…"  
  
"When I look at her," he said, "all I can think about is losing Izuki. They are not the ones who took him from this world, but they could have been. They just as easily could have been the ones to take me from this world…or you." He turned and faced away from them, but stood still for a moment. After a short pause, he hung his head slightly. "I promised him, Roxy…" Then, he started to walk off into the trees again.  
  
"Taka!" Roxy called after him, "Taka, stop!" He kept walking and didn't even turn around. "At least say 'thank you'!" she called, but it was no use. An empty sigh slipped past her lips.   
  
Vi took a few slow steps towards her. "You…did not tell me his love was…"  
  
"Humans killed him," Roxy explained.  
  
"Oh heavens…" she said with a grimace, looking as if she immediately regretted some of the things she had said.  
  
"I'm sorry, Vi. You don't deserve any of that. You've been wonderful, and all I want to do is thank you for all you've done."  
  
Vi let out a quiet sigh, but then shook her head. "There is no need to concern yourself. I am touched by your gratitude and thankful that I was able to repay you for rescuing me. Helping him was just part of the deal, so I am glad I could complete it nonetheless."  
  
"I…know you're a predator…" Roxy spoke softly, "and that we're….y'know…natural enemies…but you're more than just a hungry set of sharp teeth." She turned to look Vi in the eyes and gave her a small smile. "I'm happy I met you. Thank you for being who you are."  
  
"Aww…" Vi leaned in and gave Roxy a hug with one of her paws, "I am glad to have met you as well. I wish our story together could have lasted a little longer, but sadly we are simply from two different worlds."  
  
"Yeah…"  
  
After the hug ended, Vi gave her another confused look. "What did he mean by 'I promised him'?"  
  
"Oh, uh…" Roxy fumbled her paws little. "His brother…when he died, the last words he said…'Keep her safe, keep her happy'. So…he's always sort of been looking out for me since then. At first he just felt obligated, but I think we've become friends since then. Today was just a rainy day for him…"  
  
"Truly?" Vi replied, eyes wide, "That is so _romantic_! Roxy, you are not good for my heart!"  
  
Roxy blushed a little and looked off to the side.   
  
Vi then cleared her throat. "Well, in any case, I can definitely see just how much he cares for you. Even though his intentions may have been misguided, he felt adamant about keeping you safe from myself and my tribe. I think the only reason he was having trouble was because he could not keep you safe and happy at the same time in this case."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
Vi giggled softly. "Even now he continues to watch you, just to make sure I do not try anything at the last moment."  
  
"What?" Roxy said, her ears perking up. She turned around and tried to look in the direction Vi was glancing, but she couldn't see anything.  
  
"He thinks he is hiding from me," Vi said with a chuckle, "How cute."  
  
Roxy searched the trees for a few more seconds, but still could not see where Taka was apparently hiding. She had thought he had wandered off, but if Vi was right then he was still staying close by in spite of his emotions. That did manage to bring a little smile back to her.  
  
"I should go," she said bittersweetly, "I don't wanna keep him waiting, and we still have such a long way to go."  
  
Vi nodded in understanding. "Farewell then, cutie," she said with a wink, "May Arceus smile down upon you."  
  
"Goodbye, Vi…Thanks again for everything."  
  
The two Pokémon remained standing there for a moment, simply looking at one another. It was hard to say goodbye this time, Roxy was finding. Vi had been so nice and friendly, and her tribe so welcoming and accommodating. Eventually, though, her drive to move forward won over and she turned away.  
  
"Actually, before you go…"  
  
Roxy stopped in mid step and looked back over her shoulder. "Huh?"  
  
Vi stepped over to her, sat down beside her, and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Let me give you one more gift for your journey," she said, "About 100 paces ahead, there is a tree that is taller than those around it. The view from the top will make you smile."  
  
Roxy turned her head to look at the Vulpix, but she was already gone. Roxy had to glance over her shoulder again to see her. Vi was walking away, her tails swaying about in an upbeat, playful manner. After she was a somewhat fair distance away, she paused and looked back as well. She winked at Roxy once more, and lifted a forepaw to wave goodbye. Roxy happily waved back.  
  
Then she turned around and forced herself to march forward, leaving Vi behind for good this time. She had delayed enough, and she knew that it was time to keep moving ahead.  
  
"You can come out now," she said flatly after walking a few yards. There was a muted impact sound next to her, and when she turned to her left she saw Taka was walking next to her now.   
  
"I don't trust her," he said.  
  
"I'm aware…"  
  
"Do not let your guard down until-"  
  
'Just…shut up, Taka…"  
  
Though she saw him give her an irritated look out the corner of her eye, Taka respected her request and stopped talking. They walked for a few moments in silence, but then he spoke up again.  
  
"For what it is worth…" he said, his tone much calmer, "I am relieved that your instincts were correct."  
  
Roxy stopped walking and looked at him.  
  
"I trust you are well aware of how bad this _could_ have gone," he said to her, the sternness returning for a moment before disappearing again, "but if you are unharmed, then I suppose there is nothing to be angry about."  
  
"Well…" Roxy gave him a wistful look, "I now understand what was going through your head at the time, so I sort of get it. I still wish you'd just told me in the first place, though."  
  
"Looking back, perhaps that would have indeed been the better option."  
  
The two started walking once more. "It's just another chapter, right?" she asked him, "Time to move on and see what else is in store?"  
  
Taka simply nodded.  
  
They continued for a bit longer, but then Roxy started to slow down and glance upwards. Vi's parting words were fresh in her mind, and she was about 100 paces away by this point. After a short while searching, she spotted a rather thick tree that seemed to be impressively tall. This had to be the one Vi had been talking about.   
  
She sprinted over to it. "Taka, let's climb this tree and get a look ahead!"  
  
He gave her an odd look. "Why?"  
  
Roxy almost told him that Vi had recommended it, but she held her tongue for fear that Taka would just think it was another trick. "I wanna see if we've gotten any closer," she said, settling for a simple answer.  
  
Taka half-rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I doubt we have come far enough to see anything but more trees."  
  
"I know," Roxy replied, "but maybe we'll see _something_." She then scaled the trunk and reached the lowest branches, and then started quickly bounding up towards the top. She could hear the branches shake as Taka followed close behind her. Roxy allowed a compliment to herself, for she was still very adept and skillful at climbing trees.  
  
It wasn't long before she reached the tallest branch that was sturdy enough to hold her. While the tree was indeed tall, it wasn't quite the tallest. That didn't matter, though, because this one still offered her an amazing view. Assuming the direction they had been traveling in was north, Roxy gazed out to the horizon.  
  
The branch wobbled as Taka landed next to her. "You know," he said, "we would be getting to this destination that you are in such a hurry to get to _much_ faster without little interruptions like these all the time."  
  
Roxy didn't answer. She was just staring.  
  
"…What?" Taka said, "What is it?"  
  
She was shaking, enough that the branch started to quiver. Her jaw hung open in a perfect 'O' shape. She couldn't speak, even if she wanted to. The shock had frozen her solid, leaving her wondering if what she was seeing was real or not.  
  
"What?" Taka said again, before standing next to her and looking in the same direction. It only took him a few seconds to see the same thing that she saw on the horizon.  
  
 _Skyscrapers_.  
  
It was so very far away, just barely peeking over the horizon, but Roxy could see tall man-made buildings. Ninety percent of what she saw was still just trees, but there was a single, solitary speck in the distance that stood out. She felt like if she blinked she would lose sight of them, but they were there.  
  
It was a city. A _human_ city. It was finally within sight.  
  
"Good heavens…" Taka murmured, "That predator took us farther north than I realized…"  
  
Like a balloon being popped, Roxy suddenly exploded with an ear-piercing squeal. She would have jumped for joy had she not been perched on a tall branch. Instead she opted for the next best thing and quickly glomped Taka into a hug. She continued to scream and squeal like a baby Eevee.   
  
"Okay, all right…" Taka said begrudgingly, "You are excited, so I will let this pass. Please try not to deafen me, though."  
  
"Aaaaaaaaa!!" Roxy screamed, "It's there!! It's there, I can see it! I can see it, Taka! I can SEE it!! We made it!! It's the humans! It's the city! It's…Aaaaah!!" She continued to ramble on nonsensically, her emotions bubbling up so much that they simply had to come out.  
  
Taka sighed in irritation from the hug, but he did pat her on the back a few times. "Indeed we did, little pet. The goal is within sight."  
  
Roxy was starting to cry. She couldn't help it, she was just too happy. After months and months of seeing nothing but trees, wilderness and wild Pokémon, Roxy could finally see something from her own world; something made by humans. She had been dreaming of this moment for a very long time, and it felt so surreal now that it was finally here. She hoped and prayed desperately that she wouldn't wake up this time.  
  
It seemed so close. Given the dense forest and her and Taka's small size, it would still probably take at least a day to reach the city, perhaps even two. That didn't matter to her, though. The city was something she could _see_ now. It was right there. It made her goals feel all the more real, and all the more attainable.   
  
"Come on now, pet. Stop it…" Taka grumbled.  
  
Roxy was staring at the city, afraid to blink and have it just disappear. "I'm almost there…" she whispered as tears of joy ran down her cheeks.  
  
"I'm coming home, master…!"


	31. So Close

Roxy was super giddy.  
  
There was almost a spring in her step as she moved through the forest. She was on cloud nine and felt like even if the whole forest erupted in flames it wouldn't damper her good mood. Her excitement level was at an all time high, which made it all the more difficult for her to focus on the fact that she was still in dangerous territory.  
  
Getting to sleep last night had been difficult. After traveling as far as they could the previous day, they had once again found a tree to sleep in. She found she just couldn't relax, knowing that they had already covered at least half of the remaining distance home. That meant that when the sun rose, it would be the last sunrise she ever experienced in this damn forest.  
  
Today was the day she finally escaped.  
  
It had been an exhaustingly long journey. Roxy had lost count of the number of times they had encountered a predator. Either by sneaking past it, running away from it, or fighting it off, they had managed to survive them all. Although, Roxy felt confident in saying at least 50% of their days had involved danger of some sort. It was a long way to go on only four hours of sleep a night as well. Her tail was mangled and she figured it would be a long time before she stopped jumping at every little sound. Roxy was positively exhausted.  
  
One wouldn't be able to tell from looking at her, though, with her endless bouncy excitement. Roxy didn't care if she looked like a fool, for she felt as giddy as one.   
  
Taka was ahead of her, as he usually was, and she followed behind trying her best to stay vigil. It was still dangerous all around her, so she kept reminding herself that she hadn't won yet. Even though, just past a relatively low number of trees, was humanity. It was there waiting for her, calling to her.  
  
"Roxy."  
  
It felt like a hatchet lodged itself into her brain with how quickly she shifted gears. She reached for her spear and quickly got into a battle stance. Although, however quick the shift had been, it wasn't all that graceful, as Roxy ended up stumbling on her hind paws and nearly falling over. "Ah! What?" she said, hoping to quickly get information about whatever danger Taka had seen.  
  
She glanced over and saw him giving her a look with one eyebrow raised. He pointed off to the side. "Berries," he stated.  
  
Roxy followed where he was pointing and saw some small bushes grouped around the bottom of a tree, each bearing fresh fruit. "…Oh," she said, her heart calming down, "Oh…"  
  
Taka rolled his eyes. "Focus more, or you will be caught off guard."  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'm trying, but it's hard…"  
  
The two approached the group of bushes. "Well, this is fortunate," Roxy commented, "We were just about to run out." Their leaf satchel was nearly empty, and although they were close to their goal Roxy knew that it never hurt to have more food just in case. The fruit on these bushes looked particularly fresh and juicy, and there was a huge variety of all sorts of berries.  
  
Taka stepped towards one of the bushes and took the satchel off of his shoulder. "Fill it up with the Cheris," he said, "They're smaller so we can fit more in."  
  
"Sounds like a plan!"  
  
The two picked the berries in silence for a moment, and then Roxy spoke up again. "Taka, uh…Have you…thought about what you're gonna do once we leave the forest?"  
  
Taka shrugged. "I will go where my wayward paws take me."  
  
Roxy put her paw to her chin in thought. "Well, if you want me to, I can tell you some really neat places to visit. Like, for example, there's this really cool city in Hoenn that's built inside of, like, a huge extinct volcano, and…"  
  
"Roxy, please," Taka said, holding up one of his paws, "I appreciate the attempt at conversation, but how many times must I remind you to _keep vigil_?!"  
  
That immediately shut her up. She realized that even just talking to Taka about her home was enough to lower her guard so that a predator could jump her from behind. "Sorry…"  
  
"Just pick the berries."  
  
Roxy frowned and got back to work. However, now that she had started talking about home, it was a train of thought that her brain simply couldn't get off of. She started thinking about all the things she was going to do when she got home. She thought about a nice, warm bath, and a delicious, expensive meal. She thought about hugging her master, playing games with her, reading books or just watching TV. Roxy silently gasped to herself as she realized just how much TV she had missed over the months!  
  
"That's it. The bag is full."  
  
Roxy's ears perked once Taka spoke, and she looked down to see that the satchel was quite full of the little red berries. "Okay, can we go now?" she asked, a little too excitedly.  
  
Taka shook his head softly, and then jerked his head over his shoulder to indicate that they were indeed heading off once again. Roxy's heart did a backflip in joy and she was all too eager to follow.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
The hours of the day had passed by in a flash. The sun had continued its constant journey across the sky and was now nearing the distant horizon, slowly turning the sky a faint hint of orange. Roxy and Taka kept up their pace the whole time, and were quite lucky in that they only encountered a few predators. Even more fortunate was the fact that none of them had detected the two as they passed.  
  
Roxy had considered climbing up a tree to see how much closer they had gotten. In the end, though, she reasoned that doing so would only make their journey longer, and she wanted to reach the exit as soon as possible. She trusted that Taka could continue to lead her in the right direction.  
  
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it seemed like the trees were becoming sparser.   
  
"This is starting to look familiar…" Taka said quietly.  
  
"Really?" Roxy replied excitedly, trying her best to keep her voice quiet.  
  
"I think we arrived at this same spot…It is where the trees thin out, and eventually there is a short path leading to a human-made entrance."  
  
Roxy gasped, realizing that Taka was referring to himself and Izuki on his previous journey. "So we're close??"  
  
"If you see a dirt path, where the humans cleared away the trees entirely, that is a sign that we are only ten or twenty minutes away."  
  
"Ohmigosh, ohmigosh…"  
  
"Control yourself…" Taka said flatly.  
  
"Sorry…I just can't believe it's real…"  
  
"It's not real yet."  
  
"I know…I know…" The two had been traveling all day. It would be evening within the hour. Roxy  did not consider herself much of a geographer but, given what she had seen from the top of that tree earlier, she figured that they had to almost be there. The trees were still thick enough that she couldn't see any city past them. She was just excitedly waiting on the edge of her seat for that first sign of humanity to make itself visible. With every tree they passed, she thought that it would be the one to reveal a glimpse of a building behind it in the distance.  
  
They came across a large and hollow fallen log. Taka was about to go around it, but he slowed down and stopped. "Wait…" he murmured, "Hold on…"  
  
Roxy watched as he approached the log, paused, and then sniffed the air a few times. He looked focused for about a minute, but didn't say or do anything. "What?" she finally asked, "What is it?"  
  
"This way," Taka announced, and then headed off directly to the left. Roxy quickly followed after him.  
  
"But I thought we were going north," she said.  
  
Taka didn't reply, but he didn't have to. After only a few short minutes of moving through the trees, Roxy saw that they started to thin out slightly just up ahead. The pair pushed past a large group of bushes that had grown and entangled some of the trees, and when they were on the other side they stopped.  
  
It was a road, or a trail. By and large it was not much, simply a long stretch of land that had been cleared of trees, only a few metres wide, that ended rather unceremoniously on the spot where they now stood. It couldn't even be called a dirt path, as the area was still covered in grasses, bushes and small sprouts of trees trying to reclaim the land. One thing was obvious, though, as evidenced by the barely visible tread marks on the ground.  
  
This was man-made.   
  
Roxy felt numb. She spent quite a while just looking at this old, forgotten trail in the woods, just to make sure it was real. It looked like not a soul had used it in years, and would perhaps be gone entirely in just a couple more. There were definitely tire tracks, however. They were almost invisible, practically forcing her to get down on all fours just to discern them, but there was clear evidence that human vehicles had once used this road.  
  
A goofy, bubbly smile spread across her face. Roxy wanted to jump and cheer. She felt like she could kiss the ground. It was not much; in fact, it was hardly anything at all. But it was still something man-made. It was the first man-made thing she had seen up close, aside from her collar, since she had left her broken Poké Ball behind.  
  
"This is it…" Taka said, a hint of reverie even in his voice, "The same road we reached last time."  
  
"S-So…" Roxy breathed, "Y-you said that…th-that…"  
  
"This road leads straight to the edge of the forest. Follow it for a short while, and there you'll find the human city."  
  
"Oh…heavens…Arceus above…"  
  
"Roxy, control yourself…" Taka warned, "This is _still_ the forest. Predators still lurk around even the very edges."  
  
Her paws jittered a little as she tried to contain her excitement. "Th-then can we go…?" she whispered, "Let's go! What're we waiting for?!"  
  
Taka raised an eyebrow and was silent for a moment, but then a small smirk appeared. "Come on then," he said, and started to walk down the path. Roxy was only too eager to follow.  
  
She didn't quite know what to make of this. Her best guess was that it was a road originally intended for logging, but then plans to log the forest were cancelled early on. Perhaps the humans used to use it for recreational purposes, or for park rangers to check things out, but now no-one used it anymore. There were some forest parks with trails back in Vermillion, but nothing this dense.   
  
She couldn't believe it was finally happening. If what Taka said was true, then she would only spend a maximum of twenty more minutes in this damned forest. Not even an hour remained! She was so close to the human world, she could taste it.  
  
"Taka," she said, stepping forward until she was walking beside him, "What's at the end of this trail? Is it like a gate, or does it turn into a road?"  
  
"You expect me to remember something like that?" Taka retorted. Roxy could hear the edge in his voice, as she knew he did not want her to be distracted by conversation while predators were about.  
  
"It's kinda important," she said with a little shrug, "I wanna know what to expect on the other side."  
  
Taka stopped walking, causing her to stop as well, and turned to look at her. Instead of replying, he just stood there silently for a few moments. At first Roxy was confused and tilted her head. A moment later, though, she realized that he wasn't actually looking at her. He was looking up at the branches of a nearby tree. The colour drained from her face.  
  
A moment later, Taka suddenly dove right into her and tackled her to the ground like a football player. The attacking Pokémon whizzed right by them, missing them by millimetres. Roxy felt it graze her fur as it sailed past.  
  
Taka got off of her and to his paws in the span of a second, and she scrambled to stand up as quickly as she could. Taka had drawn his spear and was holding it out defensively in front of the both of them. Sitting only a few short metres away, staring at them with a hungry glare, was a Seviper.  
  
Roxy's stomach did a flip as she drew her own spear. It was about eight times as long as she was tall. Though it was not particularly big when it came to Seviper as a species, it was still very much larger than she was. It sat there coiled up on the ground, looking ready to strike at them at a moment's notice. Its forked tongue flicked out occasionally, making Roxy shiver just looking at it.  
  
What she couldn't take her eyes off of, though, were the Seviper's massive fangs and even more massive blade on its tail. Both were tinted red, and both were ever so subtly leaking a distinctly purple-coloured liquid. Roxy gulped. Poison-type Pokémon were dangerous enough, but Seviper venom was known for being particularly potent.  
  
Taka was hunched down in a battle stance, staring down the massive predator. Its jaw was big enough to swallow him whole easily, but he didn't seem the least bit afraid. "Let us pass," he commanded, "We only want to leave the forest."  
  
The Seviper just gave him a derisive smirk, which looked even creepier on its serpentine face. A moment later, it lashed out.  
  
Roxy and Taka both jumped in opposite directions to avoid the Seviper's sudden strike. It moved _fast_ considering its size! Roxy could feel the air rush past her as the massive predator missed her by inches yet again. Roxy took a step back to stabilize herself, only for the Seviper's bladed tail to swing by and barely miss nicking her in the nose. A shiver ran up her spine, as she was painfully reminded that this particular Pokémon was sharp at _both_ ends.  
  
Taka was already on the defensive, holding his spear out and jabbing it whenever the Seviper got too close. Though it acted aggressively, it was wary of the sharp end of his spear. A couple of times it tried to lunge towards him, only for Taka to hop to the side and avoid it.  
  
Roxy quickly took stock of the situation. Yet another predator was attacking them, even though they were so close to the exit. The big problem was that the large Seviper was situated between them and the dirt road, so they couldn't just run to the exit. Roxy doubted they would be able to anyway, considering how fast it moved.  
  
She forced herself to focus and switch over to 'battle mode', and then decided to step forward so she could strike the Seviper's body with her spear. She did so, holding up her spear to strike, but then quickly had to stumble backwards as the bladed tail once again swung in her direction.  
  
Taka continued to fight with the head of the beast while Roxy regrouped and realized that she needed to try a different tactic. She quickly took a big step back, sheathed her spear, and considered her options. The Seviper was a Poison-type, so her Grass Knot was not going to do very much. That really left only one solution.  
  
It took a few painful seconds, but soon enough a bolt of electricity arced through the air and struck the Seviper. It let out a yelp of surprise and flinched, and then turned around to glare at Roxy. It did not look injured in the slightest, though it did seem like it was very, very angry at her.  
  
That diversion in its attention was what she had been aiming for, though. A moment later, Taka had leapt into the air and smacked the Seviper hard in the side of its head with his tail. While it was reeling from the impact, Taka quickly jammed his spear into its long body. He was not able to penetrate very deep, but blood had been spilled.  
  
The battle continued like this for a short while. Roxy continually tried to distract the Seviper with her Thunder Jolt whenever she saw an opportunity, meanwhile waiting for Taka to come up with a more concrete plan of action. They couldn't escape up a tree; it could easily follow them up. Roxy had seen that Arbok in _The Jungle Book_.  
  
Taka was doing his best to appear intimidating. Roxy guessed that he was trying to make the Seviper think it wasn't worth it to attack them because of how resilient they were. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working. The Seviper wasn't letting up at all, and continued to block their way no matter which way they turned. It started to look like the only way to end this was to knock the Seviper unconscious, or worse.  
  
If her life wasn't in danger, Roxy would have been marveling at the display of skill Taka was putting on. Just like every other time she had seen him in battle, Taka was flawless. He moved so fluidly from strikes to dodges as if he was made of water, and never once took more than a tiny scratch in damage. At times, he even leapt up and used part of the Seviper's body as a platform so he could better attack its head.  
  
The Seviper took plenty of pot-shots, but it was too swift to receive any major damage, and it had tough skin that prevented Taka's spear from going very deep. This wasn't working, and Roxy knew that one of them had to think of something else. After letting loose another Thunder Jolt, the lightbulb suddenly turned on. She realized that it didn't matter if Grass Knot wouldn't do any damage, because she didn't need it to.  
  
About fifteen seconds of focusing was all it took, and then Roxy spread her forepaws and summoned an array of powerful grass blades from the ground below. Before the Seviper could even notice what she was doing, she directed two of them directly towards its neck. The Seviper tried to dodge, but Roxy managed to wrap both blades of grass around its neck and hold them tight. She then pulled back, forcing the Seviper off balance and leaving it open to attack.  
  
Taka immediately took the hint and went in for a jump strike. The Seviper was strong, however, and managed to tear the blades of grass apart so it could dodge. A minor setback, but Roxy knew she just needed to use more blades next time. The Seviper had turned its attention on her, seeing that she was more of a threat now, but Taka quickly stepped in the way to recapture its focus. Roxy dispelled the grass, but kept the Move going as she stepped over to another position.  
  
She knew she had to act quickly, so that's exactly what she did. She only summoned as many grass blades as she thought she would need, which ended up being six, and quickly directed them towards the distracted Seviper. All six of them managed to securely wrap around its neck, and Roxy even intertwined a few of them for a bit of added strength. Roxy then attempted to pull the Seviper's head down forcefully to the ground. The Seviper fought back, making Roxy sweat and groan from the stress. She pushed as much energy into the Move as she could, pulling the grass blades back and downward slowly but surely. The Seviper let out a loud hiss of protest, but a moment later its head was thrown roughly to the ground, where Roxy pulled the blades of grass taut so it would stay there.   
  
The Seviper struggled against its bonds, causing immense strain on Roxy. She held the grass tightly, though, securing the large beast in place as best she could. It hissed angrily at her once more. Now that his foe was disabled, Taka slowly stepped towards its head while holding his spear up. He still moved with caution, looking like he would be ready to dodge a surprise strike at any moment.  
  
Roxy watched him approach the Seviper's head, and a chill ran down her spine. She started to panic for a brief moment. "Taka!" she called out to him, "What are you going to do?"  
  
Taka turned his head and shot her an irritated look. He could tell that she was actually asking if he was going to kill it or not, and from his expression it looked like he was fed up. "Seriously?" he called back.  
  
Everything changed in an instant.  
  
Roxy didn't see the Seviper's tail moving until it was too late. She didn't even have time to make a sound before she watched it plunge deep into Taka's side.  
  
She screamed in horror, her paws darting up to cover her mouth. Taka let out a pained, guttural sound, and then he started screaming. He screamed so loudly in pain. It was so unlike anything Roxy had ever heard coming out of Taka's throat. It was a horrible, impossible sound.  
  
Taka's spear clattered uselessly to the ground, the Seviper yanked its tail back out, and Taka stopped screaming. With Roxy unable to hold the focus on her Move any longer, the Seviper easily broke out of its bonds and slithered off to the side. Taka's face was frozen in shock for a moment as he took in a single, strained breath. Then, as if all strength had simply vanished from his body, Taka crumpled to the ground.  
  
Time seemed to freeze for a moment as Roxy stared in horror at what had just happened. She didn't want to believe it had actually taken place. She _refused_ to believe it, but she could see the results lying on the ground in front of her. Shock gave way to fear, which quickly blossomed into panic. "Taka!!!" she screamed.  
  
The Seviper, however, didn't allow her to focus on Taka any longer. Out the corner of her eye, she saw that it had now set its sights on her and it did _not_ look happy. Roxy turned to face it, her whole body feeling stiff and useless, and stared directly into its glaring eyes.  
  
When it darted at her a moment later, that gave her brain the kick start it needed. All worries, fears and outside thoughts were shoved to the side as she slipped fully into battle mode. She nimbly dodged to the side, just like she had practiced so many times, and allowed the Seviper to sail right past her. She then took a step back and began to _really_ focus her energy. Roxy knew that this had gone from bad to worse and then even further, and she needed to end this _now_!  
  
The Seviper quickly turned itself around and darted at her once more. Roxy again dodged to the side, but as it was passing by she unleashed another Grass Knot. With quickness and precision that she had never done before, she wrapped a whole plethora of grass blades around the Seviper's long body. It stumbled slightly when it tried to turn around again, which just gave Roxy the opportunity to send more grass at it. Then, she sent even _more_. Pushing herself to the absolute limit, and gathering more energy from the earth than she had ever done before, Roxy continued to wrap the Seviper in grass more and more. It let out a startled hiss and tried to break free. Though some of the grass blades did rupture, there were more to pick up the slack.  
  
With one final shout of exertion, Roxy had managed to nearly mummify the Seviper in grass. Its whole body, except its head and tail, were now wrapped up in a tangled mess of grass blades and held to the ground. It struggled there as strongly as it could, letting out more angry hisses, with its head lying on the ground on its side. When Roxy quickly dashed up towards its head, it glared up at her and barred its fangs. Roxy lifted her spear up, a scowl on her face.  
  
She then brought the butt end of her spear down _hard_ , striking the Seviper in the side of the head. It let out a loud hiss of pain, but Roxy just followed up with another strike. Then another, and another, and another. Blood began to fly. Roxy shut her eyes so she didn't have to look at what she was doing, but continued to do it.   
  
Finally, with one last hit, Roxy let out the breath she had been holding and started to pant. She glanced down at the Seviper, trying to avoid looking at the spattered blood. It lay there unmoving, its eyes shut tight and its tongue hanging out limply. Roxy let out a sigh of relief. It was completely unconscious.  
  
Her spear then clattered to the ground as she turned around and dashed over to where Taka was laying. Her Grass Knot was dispelled, but she didn't care since the Seviper was knocked out. "Taka!!" she shouted, dashing on all fours until she reached his side. "Taka!"  
  
When she reached him and knelt down next to him, she immediately grimaced and nearly threw up on the spot. On his back, right below the bottom-most brown stripe of fur, was a small but gruesome wound. The Seviper's tail had punctured deep, leaving a ghastly hole and a spattering of blood all across Taka's fur. More blood was slowly oozing out, but what really revolted her was the sight of small purple globs both around and inside of his wound. They looked viscous, like blood, but their colouration told her exactly what the substance was.  
  
"Taka! Taka, get up!" she shouted in a panicked voice, "Oh heavens…Heavens above…"  
  
The other Pikachu wasn't moving. He was lying face-down in the dirt with his eyes closed.  
  
"Taka, please!" She was already crying. "Taka, get up!"  
  
To her immense relief, she heard Taka let out a very low moan. She almost missed it for how quiet it was, but she had definitely heard it. Taka was still alive, at least for the moment.  
  
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…" Roxy fretted, her panic levels rising, "Taka…! Taka, what do I do?!"  
  
He didn't reply. Roxy tried to think but her brain was freezing up. Too much was happening at once for her to handle. She looked at Taka and thought about lifting him up into a sitting position, but then worried that she would only hurt him more. She glanced back at the wound, winced, and quickly averted her eyes. What was she supposed to do about an injury this serious?  
  
By happenstance, her gaze had fallen on the satchel that Taka was still wearing. Roxy gasped as an idea suddenly hit her, though she immediately started to second-guess herself. Taka had used the leaves the satchel was made of when her tail had been mangled. He'd said they had healing properties and could stop bleeding and close the wound. Would they work in this case? Taka's wound was a lot deeper and a lot more grievous.   
  
When Taka moaned softly again, she realized she didn't have time to dawdle. Something had to be done now or Taka was going to bleed out and die. She grasped the satchel and roughly yanked it off of Taka, tearing the strap apart in the process. She grabbed some of the leaves and quickly ripped them out. All of the fruit inside tumbled to the ground at her paws but she paid it no mind.   
  
Roxy quickly took the leaves she had grabbed and placed them gingerly on Taka's wound. She bit her lip, worries clouding her mind. She had no idea what she was doing. She didn't have anyone to ask for help, though, so she just had to try her best. When she ran out of leaves, she went to the tattered remains of the satchel to grab more. At first they didn't stick, but then Roxy remembered that Taka had been licking them. She brought one up and dragged her tongue across it, then immediately retched. They tasted _awful_! Regardless, she kept on doing it. It was hard to see what she was doing with tears of fear in her eyes, but she persevered.  
  
It took what felt like hours to dress his wound, though it probably only took about two minutes. When the wound was completely covered in leaves, which were all starting to gain a red tint, Roxy was as satisfied as she could be. She just hoped this would work.  
  
"Taka!" she moved back over to his front half. "Taka, c'mon! You gotta sit up! Come on!" When all he did was groan again, Roxy took the initiative and rolled him over so he was lying on his back.  
  
Taka did not look well. From head to toe, the colour looked as if it had drained from his fur, leaving him looking pale all over. While Roxy could see that his chest was moving as he breathed, it did not look like he was getting full breaths. "Taka, c'mon! Wake up!" she prodded him. When he blearily opened his eyes a moment later, they were unfocused and his pupils were dilated. It looked like it was a huge struggle just to keep his eyes open.  
  
"Oh dear heavens…!" Roxy muttered, breathing deeply as her panic continued to rise. "Taka! Taka, can you hear me?"  
  
He let out a long, low groan. He sounded extremely nauseated.   
  
"Taka!" Roxy leaned forward and grasped his shoulders, "Taka, you gotta sit up! You gotta stay awake! You're gonna be fine, okay? You're gonna be _fine_!"  
  
She tried to lift him up by the shoulders, but quickly figured out that Taka would not be able to support himself at all. She gently lowered him back to the ground. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…" she fretted, nibbling on her paw anxiously. What was she supposed to do? This wasn't just a regular injury, Taka was poisoned! How did Pokémon in the wild deal with being poisoned?  
  
"R…." Taka's voice was so quiet it was almost impossible to hear. "….R…Roxy…?"  
  
"Taka, I'm here," she replied, "I can hear you. I'm fine, and you're fine too."  
  
"Urrghhhh…" he moaned in pain.  
  
Roxy bit her lip. "Okay, you're not fine. I lied. But you're _going_ to be fine. You've just…got a bit of poison…Taka, do you know what to do? Tell me whatever it is and I'll do it!" She lifted her head up and looked around frantically, as if magical instructions were written on a tree somewhere.  
  
Taka made a few more sick sounds, recapturing her attention. Roxy saw now that he was quivering softly, as if he was cold.   
  
"Taka? Taka, talk to me! Tell me what I need to do!" Her voice was growing higher in pitch with every passing second as she grew more and more frantic. "Taka? Taka, please!!"  
  
"I…" Taka started to say, but was interrupted as he let out a few disgusting-sounding coughs. "Urgh…So…This…is it…"  
  
Roxy's ears drooped. "Huh??"  
  
"This is how it ends…? I can honestly…say that I am surprised…"  
  
It felt like she had just gotten punched right in the gut. "What? Taka, no! Nothing's ending, you're gonna be fine! You're gonna be okay, Taka! I'm gonna help you! We're gonna fix this!!"  
  
To her dismay, Taka slowly shook his head. "Sorry…Roxy…I can feel it. There is…a _lot_ of poison…in my blood…already…" He coughed again. "I am dead already…No way to stop this…"  
  
"No!! Don't say that!!" Roxy shouted, more tears streaming from her eyes as she shook her head. Her heartbeat rose to a feverish pace as panic gripped her mind like a vice, squeezing down harder than she could bear. This couldn't really be happening. She _had_ to be having a nightmare!  
  
"Such…a shame…" Taka mused softly as he gazed off at nothing, "I…let my guard down…I always thought my life would end as I was struck down in a glorious fight…To die from poison feels…so unsatisfying."  
  
"Taka, shut up!" Roxy blurted out, "You're not dying, so stop it!!"  
  
He simply sighed and shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Roxy…"  
  
In an instant, it suddenly felt like the entire world was collapsing around her. The situation became real and, more frighteningly, became undeniable. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt the claw-like grip of panic squeezing her tired little head. Tears had been forming in her eyes before, but now she really started to cry. "No…" she whimpered softly.  
  
She wanted so badly to deny it, to dispute it, to do _any_ thing to make this not real, but she couldn't. Taka was lying on the ground before her, and he was dying.  
  
"No…No, no, please…!"  
  
Taka moaned again, almost sounding like he was simply hungover. "It…doesn't hurt…" he murmured, "That's…nice…"  
  
Roxy shook her head vehemently, tears flying in all directions. Her heart hitched up into her throat as she collapsed forward, half hugging and half clutching onto Taka as if she could somehow hold him here in this world. "No!!" she shouted, her emotions finally getting to her, "No, you can't!! You have to beat this, Taka! You just have to!!"  
  
"Roxy, please…" Taka whispered, "Do not trouble yourself with me. In a very short time I will be gone…" He grinned softly and chuckled to himself. "I…am glad that I was able to lead you…home…"  
  
"Taka, stop it!!" Roxy cried, leaning up and staring him right in the eyes.  
  
"I am pleased that we made it…You can go home now, Roxy…! Just follow the road…The human world awaits you, Roxy…So go to it…"  
  
Roxy collapsed onto him once more and hugged him tightly. "Please…" she wailed, "Please stay! I…I can't…"  
  
"You can, Roxy," he reassured her, "I may have…fallen in battle, but…" He sighed in contentment. "I am happy that I was…able to keep my promise…"  
  
"Taka…You're my friend…I…Y-you can't…!"  
  
"Roxy…" he said, and then waited for her to raise her head and look at him. "Did I…keep you safe?" he asked, "Did I…keep you…happy?"  
  
Roxy's lip quivered as she looked into the dull, faded eyes of the dying Pikachu. She couldn't form the words that she wanted to, so instead she nodded.  
  
Taka smiled and let his head roll lazily to the side. "That is good…"  
  
"Taka…"  
  
"Makari…? Brother…? Are you there?"  
  
"Taka, I can't…!"  
  
There was a content smile on Taka's face, the likes of which Roxy had never seen before. "I will see you soon…"  
  
"No, Taka!!" Roxy suddenly burst out, "I can't…I can't…!" She quieted down as a few sobs escaped her throat. "I can't lose you too…"  
  
A few moments passed, but Taka did not reply. Roxy's head shot up in a panic.  
  
"Taka?" She looked and saw that his eyes were closed. A surge of extreme panic shot through her, but she noticed his chest was still moving as he breathed. He had fallen asleep. While a bit of a relief, Roxy knew that this was _not_ a good sign.  
  
"Taka! Taka!! Wake up, Taka!! Come on, wake up! We gotta…We…We gotta…!" She tried desperately to find the words, as if it would somehow shine a light on what she needed to do to save his life, but none came to her. She had no idea what to do, and she knew that if she didn't do _some_ thing then Taka was just going to die.  
  
But what?? They were miles away from the Thunder Clan and the only healer in the forest that Roxy knew of. While they were on a human road, they were still somewhat far from the forest's edge, and Roxy didn't know how far the city was from the edge itself. For all intents and purposes, they were still in the wilderness. It wasn't like she was back home where she could just quickly find a Pokémon Center, or a mart that sold Antidotes.  
  
Her ears perked up and she gasped. _Antidote!!_  
  
Roxy left Taka's side and quickly dashed a few feet to the side where the tattered remains of Taka's leaf satchel were. She practically dove into the small pile of berries that had accumulated after they had all fallen out and she started to frantically search.   
  
Her search didn't last very long, though, especially since most of the berries were little Cheris. There were no Pecha Berries in the pile. Not a single one. Roxy whined in distress and glanced back at Taka. She remembered what had happened only about an hour earlier. Amongst all of those berry bushes, there had been a bush _full_ of Pecha Berries and they hadn't picked a single one.  
  
Roxy bit her lip. She didn't know what to do. Taka was lying there dying, the last precious moments of his life fading away, and she wasn't doing a thing about it. She wracked her brain so hard that she gave herself a headache. There _had_ to be a solution!  
  
She turned her head and glanced back into the forest, away from the road. She knew for a fact that there was big bush with plenty of Pecha Berries, and it wasn't that far away. It would mean venturing back into the forest where danger still lay, though. Furthermore, she would have to carry Taka on her back; she couldn't leave him here in case the Seviper woke up.  
  
She then turned and gazed down the long road. It led to the human world, where modern medicine existed. But how far away was the nearest Pokémon Centre? It could take her far more than an hour to find one. The human world wasn't exactly safe either, especially for a wild Pokémon like him. In his vulnerable state, he would be easy pickings for any Pokémon Trainer. She couldn't really run away from any humans that spotted her if Taka was on her back. All it would take was a single Poké Ball and Taka would be gone. Furthermore, unless the trainer happened to have Antidotes, Taka probably wouldn't survive in the Ball long enough to be saved at a Pokémon Center.   
  
Finally, she looked at Taka once more. He was lying there limply on the ground, pale in colour, and looking like he had already passed on. Her heart leapt into her throat once again and her panic reignited itself. Time was ticking away and she couldn't afford to take risks. She had to go for the sure thing.  
  
"Sorry, Taka…" she said as she returned to his side and started to lift him onto her back, "Sorry, Makari…" She let out a groan of discomfort from the weight on her back, but soon enough got him secured enough so she could run. Then, without wasting a second, she turned away from the road and dashed into the woods.  
  
"You two can't see each other just yet…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy felt like a complete wreck.  
  
With every heaving breath she took, her chest burned. All four of her limbs, and even her tail for some reason, felt like jelly that was about to just fall off. Despite the cool springtime air, she was sweating like crazy and panting like a Rockruff. In spite of it all, though, she continued to push forward.  
  
More than an hour had passed by, and Roxy hadn't stopped for a single second. After turning around and running back into the woods with Taka on her back, she had tried her best to retrace their steps. She had never been very good at tracking scents, but she had been able to just barely detect their trail and follow it back.   
  
It was by no means an easy journey. Taka was bigger than she was, and that meant he was _heavy_. Each step felt like she was wearing cement shoes on all four of her paws, and with his weight on her back she couldn't get a proper full breath. It was quite possibly the most physically exhausting thing she had ever done in her life.  
  
She never stopped, though. No matter how much it hurt or how badly her body wanted to rest, she kept going. Roxy knew that the poison was seeping through Taka's veins. Every so often she turned her ears back to see if he was still breathing, but she knew that Taka was running out of time. If she stopped, even for a minute, that could have been the difference between Taka living and dying.  
  
It had been difficult to keep to the shadows so that she could avoid detection, while still trying to move as fast as she could. At one point, she had been forced to stop and wait for a predator to move out of her way. Each lost second in that moment had been agony.   
  
By this point, though, she wasn't even able to move stealthily. She was on her very last few drops of energy, and the only way she could breathe was through loud, haggard panting. If a predator found them now it would be game over, and Roxy knew this all too well. She didn't even have the strength to run away, even without Taka on her back.   
  
Still, she kept moving. She didn't stop. Taka's limp, heavy body was cold to the touch. Thankfully, she could still barely hear him breathing. Taka was resilient, if nothing else.   
  
Roxy stepped over the roots of a tree and let out a loud, strained exhale. It felt like she was about to reach her limit; the point where no amount of determination would be enough to keep her tired muscles moving any further. The thought made her heart drop. She had a mission to complete, and Taka was counting on her. She didn't know what she would do with herself if, after all this work, she still failed.  
  
With a ferocious growl, Roxy pushed herself further and circled around the tree. This would not be the end. She would keep going, no matter what. When she opened her eyes to see what lay before her, though, she realized that she had indeed met the end.  
  
The biggest grin of relief spread across her face and she let out an exhausted but happy panting noise. She'd found it. The big group of bushes, including the one with all of the Pecha Berries, was just a few feet in front of her. She dashed over to it as quickly as she could and nearly collapsed before it. Elation flooded through her, and she would have outwardly expressed it if she'd had any energy left at all.  
  
She didn't celebrate for long, though. Roxy stepped over to the tree next to the bush with the Pechas and unceremoniously dumped Taka off of her back. She winced a little at the rough treatment but she couldn't help it. She didn't have the strength left to be delicate. She then grasped him by the shoulders and sat him upright against the tree's trunk.  
  
She then reached over and pulled one of the Pecha Berries off of its branch. "Taka!" she said, shaking his shoulder, "Taka wake up! I found you Pecha Berries. You have to eat them!" She was still panting heavily as she stood there, waiting for his response.   
  
Taka, however, was still out cold. He was frightfully pale and was barely breathing at all. It became abundantly clear that Taka wasn't about to wake up any time soon.  
  
If he wasn't going to be able to eat the berries, then that just meant Roxy would have to get a bit more creative. She grabbed Taka by the shoulders again and this time laid him down face-up on the ground. She opened his mouth with her paw, and held the Pecha Berry directly above him.   
  
Then, she squeezed the berry as hard as she could. Immediately, a trickle of juices squirted out of the abused fruit and dribbled down into Taka's open mouth. She continued to squeeze the berry, juicing it as best she could, until Taka had a small mouthful. She worried about choking him, but she didn't have very many options left at this point. Finally, she closed his mouth and started to gently rub his throat with her paw. Her master's father liked to watch medical dramas on TV, and this was something they sometimes did to get a human patient to swallow something. Roxy only hoped the same thing applied to Pokémon.  
  
Things were really tense for a moment, but then Roxy felt Taka's muscles move as he reflexively swallowed. Roxy breathed out a sigh of relief. She then opened up Taka's mouth and repeated the whole process. After three mouthfuls, the berry would give no more juice and so she tossed the used husk to the side and picked another one.  
  
By the time she was on her third berry, nothing had happened yet and Roxy was starting to get worried. Pecha juice was supposed to be such a powerful poison antidote that its effects could be seen immediately.   
  
"Come on, Taka…" Roxy whined softly as she rubbed his throat yet again, "Please wake up, Taka…Please…"  
  
She felt him swallow again, but still he didn't stir. Her ears drooped as she began to lose hope. Maybe she was too late, or maybe there was just too much poison in his blood for the Pechas to help. Fresh tears began to run down her face, but she ignored them and reached for another berry. Again, she squeezed the juice into his mouth and rubbed his throat.  
  
"Mnn…"  
  
Roxy's ears perked up, unsure if she had heard something or just imagined it.  
  
"Unghh…"  
  
Miraculously, Taka began to stir. He knitted his brow and rolled his head to the side softly, putting on a grimacing expression. It was hard to tell, but it looked like a touch of colour had returned to his fur. After a few tense seconds, Taka sluggishly wrenched an eye open.  
  
"Taka…?" Roxy spoke in a quiet voice. Inside she was leaping for joy, but she remained calm on the outside. "Taka, can you hear me?"  
  
He opened his other eye, and then squinted both of them against the light of the outside world. It took him a few moments, but his pupils did eventually shift to the side and focus on her.  
  
"Taka, are you there? Can you hear me?"  
  
"R…" He closed his eyes and grimaced for a moment before opening them again. "R…Ro…x…"  
  
Roxy shook her head. "Don't try to talk," she instructed him. Then, she used her forepaws to carefully lift Taka up into a sitting position and leaned him against the tree trunk once more. His head wobbled about, but he managed to keep his balance and sit there. He still looked drained of energy and his breathing still sounded laboured, but at least he was conscious now.  
  
"…Roxy…?"  
  
"Shh," Roxy replied, shoving a berry into his paws, "Don't talk. Just eat."  
  
Taka's paws fumbled on the berry for a moment, but soon enough he was able to get a grip on it. Slowly, very lethargically, he lifted it to his mouth and took a bite. Roxy smiled in satisfaction and watched carefully just in case he needed help. Every movement looked like it was agony for Taka, but he kept his hold on the berry and continued to take small bites.  
  
It took forever for him to finish the berry, but Roxy didn't wait even a second to replace it with another one. Taka gave her a drunken sort of look, but she just instructed him to eat once more and then went to pick the rest of the berries.  
  
He finished this berry a little quicker, and by the end of it he was moaning and groaning in pain. Roxy couldn't help but smile inwardly at this, because it meant he had the _energy_ to moan and groan. That was still an improvement. Relief and elation slowly washed over her as Taka ate Pecha Berry after Pecha Berry. With every fruit he consumed, his outward appearance looked just a little bit better. Colour returned to his fur, his eyes opened wider, his movements became less sluggish and, best of all, his moans and groans eventually faded away.   
  
Roxy just kept picking berries and feeding them to him until he finally held up his paws and shook his head. "No more…" he mumbled, "Or I will burst…"  
  
She nodded and dropped the berry she was holding. Then, for a few moments, she just looked down at Taka. He looked so much better. The colour in his fur was as vibrant as before and, aside from looking a little worn out, he looked to have all of his strength back. It was almost too good to be true.  
  
Taka realized she was looking at him and lifted his head to meet her gaze. "…Roxy."  
  
"Hey…"  
  
Silence reigned for a moment, and then Taka lifted up his paw and looked at it. "This is real?" he murmured, "This is…not a dream?"  
  
"Nope," Roxy replied, "How do you feel?"  
  
Taka sighed. "Full."  
  
"Heh…N-no, seriously. Are you…better?"  
  
"Urgh…" Taka held a paw up to his forehead and grumbled, but he did nod. "After that many Pecha Berries…I had better be…"  
  
Roxy smiled as relief began to wash over her. The reality of what had just happened slowly became real for her, and all of her built up emotions came flooding out at once. As tears of joy welled up in her eyes, she suddenly darted forward and engulfed Taka in a hug.  
  
"Gah…Roxy?"  
  
She squeezed him tightly. "Don't scare me like that…" she whispered.  
  
Taka let out a long, slow breath of air. "I…" he spoke in a distant tone, "I…live…"  
  
Roxy nodded as she continued hugging him. "I almost lost you…Thank heavens everything worked out…"  
  
She could feel Taka's head move as he slowly glanced around. "Where…are we?" he asked, still sounding a bit weak and lethargic.  
  
"The group of bushes we passed," she answered, "Y'know, the one where we picked all those Cheri Berries?"  
  
Taka was silent for almost a full minute. "You…" he whispered, "You…carried me…all the way back here?"  
  
Roxy nodded vigorously.  
  
There was another moment of silence, and then Roxy gasped as she felt Taka slowly move his limbs so that he could hug her back. She smiled happily as Taka gave her an embrace just as warm as the one she was giving him.  
  
"Roxy…" he spoke, "You saved my life…"  
  
"Thank heavens I did…"  
  
"This is twice now…Twice you have saved my life…"  
  
Roxy sniffled, still weeping a little bit. "Of course!"  
  
Taka then let out a yelp of pain. Concerned, Roxy quickly moved back from the embrace and tried to figure out what was wrong. She saw, though, that the way Taka was sitting indicated that his wound was hurting. Even if the poison was gone, that deep wound on his lower back was still there.  
  
"You okay?" she asked him concernedly.  
  
"I will live…" He let out a sigh and then lifted his head to look at her once more.   
  
Roxy was surprised by the way he looked at her. It was an expression she had never seen on him before. Taka usually carried with him a touch of rigidity and toughness everywhere he went, but she couldn't see any of that now. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly, the former glowing with the light of the early sunset. What emotion was he expressing? Was it…reverence?  
  
"But…I do not understand…" Taka said.  
  
Roxy tilted her head. "Huh?"  
  
His gaze drifted to the side. "You…" He spoke in an airy tone, as if he had just seen something unbelievable. "You turned back…" He then met her gaze once more and said, "You turned back…for me…"  
  
At first she didn't understand what he meant, but when she did it made her smile and nod.  
  
"You were _there_ , Roxy…You were a short hop away from the edge…from your _home_. You have been trying to get out of this forest for months, and you…turned back."  
  
"Of course I did!"  
  
"I was dead, Roxy!" Taka responded, his voice rising a bit, "I was as good as dead. I knew that, and I'm sure you knew that… You…Roxy, you could have lost everything you've worked so hard for! You were so close to freedom, and you could have been mauled by a predator doing this…"  
  
"Taka, c'mon…" Roxy said with a bittersweet chuckle, "I know I was there, but…I couldn't just leave you behind."  
  
"…You _should_ have."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "Absolutely not. We've been through too much already. I knew there was a chance that I could save you, and so I had to do it. There was no question about it!" She sighed and added, "I'm just so thankful that it worked…"  
  
"But…why?" Taka asked, dumbfounded, "Why would you put everything, including your own life, in jeopardy just for a slim chance of saving me?"  
  
"Because we're friends, you big dummy!" Roxy replied with a quiet giggle, "I couldn't just let my friend die like that…"  
  
"We…" Taka's voice died away, and he slowly turned his head to gaze off into the distance. He was silent for quite a while after that, just sitting and staring. Roxy watched him closely, looking for any signs that he was still suffering from poison, but didn't prod him to talk any further until he was ready. The two of them had been through a lot, but he had just come within _nanometres_ of death. Even for someone like Taka, that had to be a terrifying experience.  
  
As the sun set and the light started to disappear, Roxy started to wonder if Taka was going to talk again or if he would just fall asleep sitting up like that. But then, she noticed that a smile had graced his lips.  
  
"I see it now…" he said softly.  
  
"Huh? See what?"  
  
He turned to look at her, still smiling. Roxy was stuck by how weird it was to see Taka smiling, and such a genuine smile too. It looked so out of place on him.  
  
"I can see now what my brother saw in you," he said.  
  
Roxy stood there blinking, struck silent by the unexpected sentiment. She remembered a long while ago, two Pikachu sitting on a tree branch, both mourning the loss of another. One Pikachu had snapped at the other, demanding to know why their departed companion liked her so much.   
  
When she didn't reply, Taka kept talking instead. "You have a kindness that overfills your heart. You have more compassion in you than perhaps our entire tribe. Even though so much has happened to you over these trying months, you still keep others in your thoughts. Even when the opportunity to achieve everything you have hoped for presents itself, you were not selfish. It is the same as when you stood up to Tazoka and the Earth Tribe. Though you are often frightened, even the threat of death cannot come between you and…your friends."  
  
"Oh my gosh, Taka…" Roxy said as she put a paw over her heart, "That's so sweet of you to say…"  
  
"It is the truth, though it has taken me far too long to see I am afraid…"  
  
"It's alright, Taka. I'm just glad you're okay now."  
  
Taka nodded gratefully, and then the two shared a moment of reflection. The sun continued its journey towards the horizon. There was no way they were going to make it back to that old road today. They would have to spend the night in a tree and leave it until tomorrow. Roxy didn't really mind, though. It was just one extra day, and the reason she had done it was well worth the sacrifice.  
  
"You realize," Taka said in a bit of a wry tone, "that this puts me eternally in your debt?"  
  
Roxy blew a Razz Berry at that remark. "Are you kidding me? I save your life twice, and you've saved mine…how many times now?"  
  
Taka chuckled. "True, but you do realize the risks you took, right? You had your own personal victory sitting before you, ready to be taken, and by turning back there are a thousand things that could have taken that victory away from you forever."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Roxy said, shaking her head, "I used to always get too worried thinking about what ifs and what could-have-beens. What happened is what happened, and I am so glad that I made the choice I did. Even if I had gotten home okay, the knowledge that I had just left you behind for dead would have haunted me for the rest of my life."  
  
"Well…" Taka hesitated, sounding as if he were fumbling over his words. "…To be honest, I am glad that you made that choice as well." He then shifted his position slightly, and ended up wincing sharply.  
  
Roxy glanced down worriedly at where his wound was. "Are you gonna be okay with…that?" she asked, "Is there something I can do? No offense or anything, but we're not gonna make it out of the forest or through the city if you're…well, crippled."  
  
"I notice you applied some of the leaves to it," Taka remarked, and then he paused. "…I presume that means the second satchel has met its end?"  
  
Roxy gave him an apologetic half-smile and nodded once.  
  
"Troublesome…But, oh well…No, I will be able to walk and even run, I think. I will just not be at full strength."  
  
"Are you sure? It looked…" She shivered at the memory. "…really bad."  
  
Taka shook his head and said, "The leaves will help. They have already helped some, and by morning it should be much better. By that point, at the very least, exerting myself will not make it any worse, even if it has not healed all the way. I will simply have to endure the pain if we encounter trouble."  
  
"Taka…"  
  
He turned and gave her a smug look with a raised eyebrow and a wry grin. "After all this time, you still underestimate me?"  
  
Roxy quickly shook her head. "No! Never!" She chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. "No, even when I first saw you…Way back with that Zangoose…I thought you were invincible."  
  
"Pff…" Taka scoffed at that. "No-one is invincible. Not even myself."  
  
"I know that, but you…You're pretty close."  
  
Taka chuckled dryly. He then shifted his position again and reached down with his paws to feel the leaves that were on his wound, since it was in a place he couldn't easily see. After a bit of prodding and wincing, he seemed satisfied that Roxy had done a good enough job dressing the wound.  
  
"Well," he said afterwards, "It is getting dark. Let's climb this tree and get some sleep."  
  
"Yeah, okay. Can you climb oka- Ah, y'know, never mind…"  
  
He flashed her a soft grin and then carefully stood up. He moved slow, but didn't show any signs of wincing in pain. "We have a big day ahead of us," he commented as he turned around to face the trunk.  
  
As she watched him scale the tree, rather quickly given his injured state, she couldn't help but smile as well. What a hectic and harrowing day it had been. Roxy couldn't deny that she was utterly exhausted by this point, and silently wished she could get more than just four hours of sleep.   
  
Her heart was still pounding a bit fast, though. The excitement of this little adventure was taking its time to wear off. Now she found herself in that moment where she started to ask herself questions like 'What were you thinking? Did you _really_ just do that?! You could've been killed!!' She still felt occasional shivers thinking about how things could have gone wrong. She had very nearly lost Taka and, in trying to rescue him, had nearly lost herself.  
  
She was still smiling as she glanced up at Taka situating himself on one of the tree's branches. She was happy things had worked out and felt so relieved that she had made the right choice.   
  
Tomorrow was another day. Hopefully this time, it would actually be the day she made her way back home.


	32. Beyond the Forest

"So, why _are_ you so short, exactly?"  
  
Roxy turned her head and gave Taka a look. "S'cuse me?"  
  
Taka kept his gaze forward, but smirked as he did. "It must be because of what they feed you."  
  
"Hey, I'm not _that_ short!" Roxy replied somewhat indignantly, "I'm only a few inches shorter than the official Pokédex entry!"  
  
Taka chuckled softly and shook his head, and then continued looking at their surroundings carefully.   
  
The two were walking along the old dirt road, having successfully returned to the spot where the Seviper had attacked. The two had woken up in that tree without satchels, without food, and without either of their spears, as Roxy had dropped hers in panic once Taka had gotten poisoned. Literally the only thing they had left was Taka's boomerang. They'd had some more Pecha Berries for breakfast, despite Taka having grown sick of them after eating so many, but now they were truly on their own.   
  
It had been a bit of a frightening journey back to the dirt road for Roxy. At first, she had spent too much time focusing on Taka's injury and watching him to see if it was worse than he said it was. True to his word, he was able to walk and even sprint, meaning they could travel at about the same pace as they had been doing for the entire journey. She did notice him wincing slightly every so often, though. Taka could travel, but she really started to worry about whether or not he would be okay if they got in another fight.  
  
Thankfully, they had reached the dirt road okay. Taka had spied a few Zangoose off in the distance, but it had been easy to get past them undetected. As Roxy expected, the Seviper had been gone once they arrived back at the road's end. Taka had carefully surveyed the area, but found no Seviper hiding anywhere and waiting for round two.  
  
Now, finally, they were following the dirt road and seeing where it took them. Taka and Roxy both continued to remain vigilant; the Seviper had shown them that predators still lurked even near this man-made road. However, it was clear that they were both excited to be on the final leg of their journey through the forest. Roxy could see that even Taka seemed to be in better spirits.  
  
"How's your hip?" she asked, referring to his Seviper bite injury.  
  
"It's fine," Taka replied. She glanced over at him and tried to get a look at the injury, but it was on the side opposite to her. He was walking fine though, as usual. The leaves she had applied were still stuck onto the wound, but Roxy hoped they could find some better bandaging once they reached the city.  
  
Her heart fluttered. The city! They were almost there! Almost at the city! Roxy simply could not wait and her excitement started to bubble over, so she kept herself in check by paying attention to her current surroundings instead of her destination.  
  
The further they went, the more firm and less overgrown the old road was. At no point did it ever look like it had been used any time in the last decade, but it did indicate that the forest was really starting to thin out. They were so _close_!!  
  
"Not much longer, now…" Taka observed, as if reading her mind.  
  
"I know!" Roxy replied giddily, "Gosh, it feels like I've been in this forest forever and ever!"  
  
"I must admit, it is surprising that you have only been here about six months…It feels like much longer."  
  
"Six months…Six whole months gone…" She frowned a little. "I wonder if they're still looking for me, or…"  
  
"Hm? Your…humans?"  
  
"We've spent every single day together since I was born…and now I've been gone for six whole months…" She sighed softly. "It must have torn her apart so much…I wonder if she thought I died…Aw, master…I'm so sorry."  
  
"Don't be silly, there is nothing to be sorry for. From what you have told me, it is clear that none of this was your fault."  
  
"Yeah, I know…" she murmured, "When I see her again, I wanna hug her and never let go until the day I die…I never want to leave her side ever again!" She paused for a moment and then sighed again. "I don't even know what I'm gonna say to her…!"  
  
"'Say'?" Taka piped up, giving her an odd look, "What do you mean? The humans do not speak our language…"  
  
Roxy turned and looked at him as well, and after a moment a smile managed to return to her. "My master and I can understand each other," she said in a fond tone.  
  
"Is that so…?"  
  
She then glanced ahead once more. The trees were still too dense for her to be able to see any of the city beyond them, but she knew that would change in a very short time. "Right now, though," she commented, "What I'm most curious about is just where the _hell_ I am! I _know_ there's not a forest this big anywhere close to Vermillion City, so I could be anywhere…I wonder if I somehow ended up in Johto or something…"  
  
"If I remember correctly," Taka interjected, "I believe there is a sign just outside the entrance. Perhaps that will tell you what you need to know?"  
  
"Yeah…" The two lapsed into silence for quite a few minutes. All the while, they simply continued to run at a brisk pace along the road. It truly must have been an old, abandoned logging road because Roxy didn't see any old signs, markings or any sign of humanity besides the road itself. She took a moment to glance around, making sure that she couldn't hear or see anything that might have been watching them. "I just can't wait to get out of here…" she mused, "I'm so tired of fearing for my life…"  
  
"Well!" Taka spoke up next to her, "I do not think you will have to spend much more time here!"  
  
"Huh…?" she replied, turning her head to look ahead of her. What she saw managed to stop her in place completely, leaving her wide-eyed and jaw hanging in disbelief. She brought her forelimb up to rub her eyes and make sure she wasn't just seeing things, but it was still there afterwards.  
  
Ahead of them, just around a small bend in the road, there was an old metal gate. Beyond it was something Roxy hadn't seen for six months; _no_ trees.  
  
"Is…Is that…?" she whispered in disbelief.  
  
"That it is, Roxy," Taka replied as he stepped into her field of vision, "The edge of the forest."  
  
It was right there. It was _right_ there! It would take her little more than a minute or two to reach it. She couldn't believe it. It had to be some weird forest-mirage. Could it really be that her home, her own world, was just beyond that old gate?  
  
"…Well?" Taka asked, giving her a raised eyebrow, "What are you waiting for?"  
  
That was enough for Roxy to start running. She didn't say anything, and she didn't even smile yet. She didn't _dare_ to smile until she saw it with her own eyes. As she started to run ahead, the gate got closer to her. Even this simple, basic fact of physics was enough to get her heart racing. With every second, she started to run even faster towards the bright shining light that was streaming in from behind the gate.  
  
"Roxy! Hold on!" Taka called from behind her, "Remain vigilant!"  
  
She heard his words, but they didn't register. There was only one single thing on her mind right now. She could have passed the world's largest Leppa Berry and wouldn't have even slowed down. The only thing Roxy knew was that she had to keep running, because it was the only way to reach that gate.  
  
The sun was bright that day, and so Roxy wasn't able to see very much until she reached the gate itself. She quickly leapt up on top of it, took a quick moment to catch her breath, and then looked out at what was before her.  
  
Her heart nearly stopped right there. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes at what she saw. Spread out before her in a beautiful, brilliant vista was a large city. A _human_ city, with houses and buildings and a few skyscrapers as well. It sat at the bottom of the fairly large hill she currently found herself at the top of, connected to where she sat by an old paved road that curved down the hill. Even from there, Roxy could see cars and busses driving along the city's streets, an airplane flying high above the city, and many types of boats arriving at the large port that bordered the sea. To the left of the city, the sparkling blue waters of the ocean spread out as far as she could see.   
  
The glass windows of the tall buildings sparkled in the late morning sun. There were only a few clouds in the sky, allowing the sun to light up the city in a beautiful display of shapes and colours. The ocean danced and sparkled as if it were part of a professional photograph, reflecting the deep blue of the sky. Ultimately, as a city, it was nothing particularly special.  
  
To Roxy, though, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  
  
The gate wavered slightly as Taka hopped up next to her. He let out a sigh of satisfaction. "At last…" he spoke softly, "We made it."  
  
Roxy couldn't speak. It almost felt like she couldn't breathe. It had been so long since she had seen _any_ of this, and she had never been certain that she would ever get to see any of it again. The massive, seemingly endless forest had finally ended. It was now behind her, in a place where Roxy never had to look back again. A place where Roxy had never truly managed to fit in, and she had finally made it out.  
  
She had made it back to her world.  
  
"Yes, this is the same city I…we made it to last time," Taka commented, "Whatever my opinion of humans may be, I will never be able to deny that the view from up here is spectacular. Would you not agree?"  
  
When Roxy didn't answer, he looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "Roxy?"  
  
Then, she screamed. She clenched her paws into fists, raised her head to the heavens, and let all of her joy explode outwards at once. She squee'd like a little cub but she didn't care. It was a miracle that she managed to stay balanced on the gate. She had never felt this happy before in her whole life, and it was nearly overwhelming.  
  
"Good heavens, Roxy. Remember to breathe…"  
  
Roxy took a deep breath, but then went right back to screaming. "I made it!!" she shouted, "We made it!! Taka, we made it!!! I'm free!!"  
  
"Yes…Yes, we did…"  
  
Taka yelped in protest when Roxy suddenly darted over and wrapped him up in a tight hug. Before he could say anything, though, Roxy cut him off by planting a big kiss right on his lips. He let out a muffled sound of surprise and gave her a completely bewildered look with his eyes.  
  
"Yayy!! Wahoo!!" she cheered afterwards, shaking Taka vigorously as she did, "I thought I'd never get out of there!! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy!! Taka, I'm so happy!!"  
  
"I, uh…" Taka murmured.  
  
Roxy squealed in joy once more and released Taka from the death grip that had been disguised as a hug. She couldn't wait any longer, and promptly hopped off of the gate onto the paved road below. A strange jolt ran through her from the familiar feel under her paws that she hadn't felt in six months. It didn't feel real, almost as if she'd forgotten what walking on roads felt like. She got down on all fours and reveled in the feeling for a moment, and then quickly dashed off towards the city.   
  
Roxy's brain was positively overflowing with happiness. She couldn't tell if she was crying tears of joy again, but knew that she probably was. Her heart hammered against her ribcage, overstimulated with excitement and immense relief. She was _truly_ out of the forest now. Her paws were on human ground now and she never had to leave it again. The dangers of the wilderness were gone. The nightmare was finally over!!  
  
She ran as fast as she could down the old, paved road, her sights set only on the fairly large city before her. In her mind, she couldn't get to it fast enough. It wasn't Vermillion City, but it was the closest she had ever been to home by far. There were no cars on the road, as it looked like the road was very seldom used since the gate from before didn't look like it opened, allowing her to simply run free.   
  
After a couple yards, she passed by a rather large sign next to the road that was facing away from the forest. A small part of her brain that had remained rational spoke up loudly enough to get her to stop and read it, so she skidded to a halt and hopped over to investigate it.  
  
Taka was not far behind her, and she heard him scurry up beside her. "Roxy!!" he called as he approached her, "Roxy, wait!" When he came to a stop beside her, she saw him give her a somewhat incensed look out of the corner of her eye. "What was _that_?!" he demanded, "I know you're excited, but what in the world has gotten into you?"  
  
Once again, Roxy didn't respond. She didn't even move. She just sat there, looking up at the sign.  
  
When he didn't get a response this time, Taka followed her gaze and looked up at the sign as well. "What?" he asked, "What does it say?"  
  
Roxy had probably re-read the sign at least 50 times already, but she still couldn't believe what it said. She could only sit there with a baffled look on her face, her jaw hanging open once more, while her brain completely short-circuited.  
  
The sign above them read "ASPERTIA CITY PRIVATE POKÉMON RESERVE. NO ENTRY"  
  
Taka was looking at her once more. "What??" he half-shouted.  
  
"I…" she murmured, and then shook her head.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong with you?"  
  
"I'm in _Unova_?!" she spat out in disbelief, " _How the hell did I get to **Unova**?!?!_ "  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
Roxy practically bounced on springs as she made her way down the winding road to the city proper, Taka following behind her the whole way. It had initially been quite shocking to discover that she had somehow ended up on an entirely different continent, and her head had spun for a couple of minutes. Then, though, the excitement of exiting the forest overtook her once again and she became a happy bouncing ball of energy.  
  
She kept her eyes on the city the entire way down. She had worked so long to get there that she didn't want to let it out of her sight. All Roxy knew about Aspertia City came from encyclopaedias, as she had never been there and didn't know anyone who had ever been there. She knew that there was a Pokémon Gym here as well as a Trainer's School, and that Castelia City was only a boat ride away.   
  
As she neared the bottom of the hill, she saw where the long road intersected with another one, and then continued forward into the city. A fair distance beyond the intersection, the road started to be dotted by houses. As she approached the intersection itself, she spotted three cars passing by on the perpendicular road. It was only once she was a few metres away from one of the crosswalks that she finally slowed down, and then she quickly slipped into the nearby bushes.  
  
Taka followed her in. Seeing that she had finally stopped moving, he spoke up. "All right, Roxy," he said, "Now, are you going to-?"  
  
"Okay, first things first," Roxy said, cutting him off, "We're out of the woods…Heh, literally…but we still have to be careful." She faced Taka and put on a determined expression, though her smile still tried to break through at times. "I know that last time you were here you managed to avoid getting captured, but I'd rather not take any chances."  
  
Taka didn't answer. He simply blinked once.  
  
"We have to get into the city itself, so I'll rely on you and your sneaking skills to lead us there. Once we're past the residential areas, then our first mission will be to get you a collar."  
  
It looked as if Taka had just been slapped across the face. "I _beg_ your pardon?!" he shouted indignantly, "What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Absolutely not! What would make you think I would want to wear human branding??"  
  
"Because," Roxy replied calmly, "You're a wild Pokémon. If Pokémon Trainers see you, then they're going to try to capture you. I know you're good in battle, but as we _just_ saw yesterday you're not perfect. And Poké Balls are getting more powerful every day. They won't even have to knock you out to successfully capture you, and then that'll be it!"  
  
Roxy could see Taka's fur bristle. "Remind me again why you want to go _back_ to these creatures…?" he asked in a dark tone.  
  
"But here's the thing," Roxy continued, and then lifted up her own collar with her paw to emphasize her point. "Once you're caught, you can't be caught again. You're registered with the Poké Ball, whether you're a trained Pokémon or a pet. Even if I walk out there all alone in the middle of a group of excitable Pokémon Trainers, none of them are going to try to fight or capture me." She tapped the tag with her name on it. "They see this collar and they know that I'm somebody's pet, so they'd just be wasting their time. In fact, some cities even have laws against fighting already-owned Pokémon unless it's a Trainer battle."  
  
Taka still looked quite incensed, but Roxy could see recognition filling his gaze. "So, you're saying…"  
  
Roxy gave him a wink and a grin. "If you wear a collar, they'll think you're a pet too and no-one's gonna try to capture you!"  
  
The glower on Taka's face could have turned the brightest summer day into a dreary rainstorm. "I think I will take my chances…" he said flatly.  
  
"Hey!" Roxy said in a serious tone, holding up her forepaw for emphasis, "I spent the last six months listening to your every word and following all of your instructions. I did that because the forest was your home. It was your world; the place you were intimately familiar with. No matter what, I trusted what you said because I knew that if I didn't, then I might end up dead."  
  
She then gave him another grin. "But we're in my world now, Taka. It's your turn to listen to me."  
  
For a while Taka just stared at her, blinking intermittently. "Huh…" he remarked after a fair bit of silence, "I must admit…It is surprising to see you so…" He paused as he searched for the right word. "…assertive."  
  
Roxy chuckled. "Heh, really? Is that what I sound like? I don't really feel assertive. There's still a hundred things than can go wrong before I actually get home and I'm still nervous… It's just that there's less 'unknown' out here for me."  
  
Taka crossed his forelimbs. "I'm not wearing a collar."  
  
"You're wearing a collar," Roxy retorted, waving her paw dismissively, "It's not going to hurt you."  
  
"Tell that to my pride."  
  
"Oh come on, Taka, no-one knows you out here, and it's not gonna change how much of a butt-kicking warrior _I_ think you are."  
  
Taka still didn't look convinced, but Roxy just gave him her best confident look. He turned his head a moment later and looked through the branches towards the city in the distance. Then, after a minute or so, turned back to look at her once more.  
  
"Trust me, Taka," she said, "Can you do that?"  
  
He took in a deep breath and let it out as a slow sigh. Then, finally, he put his forelimbs on his hips and said, "Fine…"  
  
Roxy beamed. "Great! Don't worry, Taka. This is something I've seen other wild Pokémon do. This is the best way to keep you safe from Pokémon Trainers. I'm already owned so Poké Balls wouldn't work on me anyway, but this'll be a big help for you."  
  
Taka's expression then became quizzical. "Are you certain about that?"  
  
She tilted her head. "What d'you mean? I'm an 'owned' Pokémon since birth. I'm registered with my Poké Ball, so other Poké Balls detect that and they don't work."  
  
"But I thought you said your Poké Ball was destroyed."  
  
Roxy opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it as she realized she didn't have an answer. "…Oh," she said after a moment, a concerned look slowly developing on her face.  
  
"If your Poké Ball is gone, are you still…'owned'?"  
  
"That's…a good question. I actually have no idea…" A little hint of fear started to creep over her. Poké Balls were tied to the Pokémon they housed, forming a registration that prevents other Poké Balls from functioning on them. If her Poké Ball was broken, did that mean she was technically a wild Pokémon now, as if she had been Released? Or was her registration saved in cloud storage somewhere or something? She honestly didn't know, but the thought that she might be able to be captured by someone else was a terrifying notion.  
  
"W-well…" she spoke, "It's a good thing I still have my collar, then…"  
  
The two of them then moved to the edge of the bush and looked at the road intersection once more. There was a single car stopped at the stop sign, and Roxy could see a middle-aged human woman sitting in the driver's seat. She briefly felt a rush of excitement simply upon seeing her. Roxy hadn't seen a human being in the last six months.  
  
"Okay," Roxy said, "We gotta get down that street and keep going until we're in the city, and then find a pet store." She turned to regard Taka and said, "Can you do that?"  
  
Taka paused for a moment, but then smirked at her.  
  
She nodded. "Right… Just pretend the humans are predators."  
  
"Sure…'pretend'."  
  
They waited for the coast to be clear, and then Taka quickly took off with Roxy in pursuit. They crossed the street and started their journey down the residential road. Taka led her from bush to bush, tree to tree, always keeping the two of them out of sight from curious eyes.  
  
It was hard for Roxy to focus as she watched her surroundings passing by. It was a real live human neighbourhood on the edge of a human city. All of the little things that she had once taken for granted felt amazing to see once more. The manicured lawns, the little decorations on front porches, the bright flashing televisions that she could see through some open windows. Her heart swelled with every step forward. Every minute, every _second_ , that she was out of that forest was an amazing experience.   
  
At one point, they passed by a human washing his car with a garden hose, and Roxy spent a moment just watching the sudsy water as it ran down the curb and poured into a roadside drain. Ridiculous as the notion was, it was the one of the most wonderful things she had ever laid eyes on.  
  
They passed about five blocks without being seen, and Roxy once again found herself thankful for Taka's amazing skills. Even when it seemed like there was no hiding place on a particular house's front lawn, Taka would somehow find one. Roxy knew it wouldn't be the _worst_ thing if someone saw them. She had her collar on, and not a lot of actual Pokémon Trainers spent their time in homely neighbourhoods like this. Still, though, there were Pokémon-Control officers whose job it was to keep wild Pokémon from causing a nuisance, and she didn't want to risk them catching sight of Taka.  
  
After quickly darting across a street that had been much busier than previous ones, the two found themselves in a tiny little green area at the corner of an intersection. It was only a few metres squared, but it featured two benches, a small decorative statue with a dedication plaque on it, and a thin but tall tree. Taka pointed at the tree and then swiftly leapt up into its branches. Roxy followed suit.  
  
When the two of them were sitting on a high branch, it gave them a better view of what was ahead. Roxy saw that they were leaving the residential area behind, and before them was a few blocks dedicated to small businesses. Roxy saw a few familiar fast food chains, which only brought on another wave of warm nostalgia. She could see plenty of humans ambling about, but also no shortage of Pokémon. There were plenty of people with Pokémon such as Eevee, Emolga or Pidove sitting on their shoulders, and others were walking with Lillipup and Herdier. From the looks of their owners alone, Roxy knew that many of them were Trainers.   
  
Feeling curious, Roxy glanced over her shoulder at the way they had come. She saw the long winding road that led up the hill, but at the top of it she could only see a few trees before the topography of the land prevented her from seeing any further. That massive forest that had taken her so long to get out of, and now she could barely even see it anymore.  
  
She couldn't help but let out another happy sigh.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Okay, watch my back. I'm goin' in!"  
  
Taka nodded and then ducked behind the small fence, where he could get a covert lookout of the street and sidewalk. After a short search, the pair had found a store that sold Pokémon supplies. It looked like it was run by a 'mom and pop', as it were, and seemed to be geared more towards Pokémon pets. Fortunately, this meant that they sold collars, and a display rack full of collars was sitting just outside of the front door, presumably as a way to attract window shoppers.  
  
Roxy's plan was to dart over, grab a collar as quickly as she could, and then return to hiding before anyone noticed her. She did feel guilty about the fact that she was going to steal something, and promised herself repeatedly that she would apologize to her master for this behaviour, but Roxy felt like she had to do it. It was just one collar, after all. It's not like she was robbing a bank.  
  
She eyed the display stand as she sat hidden in the shadows beneath the fence. It wasn't a particularly busy street, and most of the traffic was in cars as opposed to pedestrians. Anyone driving by wouldn't see her long enough to really see what she was doing, so Roxy reasoned she just had to wait for this young couple to pass her by and she could make her move. Roxy had certainly been in this position before, hiding from predators. It felt really odd to be doing it because of humans.  
  
The pair of humans passed her, too engrossed in their own conversation to notice her, and in the blink of an eye she was gone. She zipped over to the stand and grabbed the collar that was closest to her. She yanked on it but it didn't budge, and she was momentarily afraid that it was tied down or attached somehow. After giving it a stronger pull, though, it popped loose revealing that the buckle had merely gotten caught. This, unfortunately, caused a loud rattling noise as the collar was pulled loose from the stand. Roxy didn't even think and simply darted back to where Taka was hiding before anyone could see her.  
  
Once she was behind the fence, she pressed herself up against it and held a paw to her chest as she heaved. A huge rush of endorphins filled her from head to tail. That had been really nerve-wracking, but it also filled her with an odd sense of excitement, which only grew once she realized that she had pulled it off without a hitch.  
  
When Roxy could breathe again, she gave Taka a look and laughed softly. "Whoa! Whew…That went well!"  
  
Taka didn't answer. He was busy eyeing the prize Roxy had just absconded with. She lifted it up with her paw and gave it a look as well. It was a garishly bright shade of purple, like the skin of a Nidorino if it were infused with radiation. It attached with a simple buckle, like one might find on a backpack, instead of the nice-looking metal hooks that hers attached with. While hers was made of imitation leather, this one looked to be made out of polyester or nylon or something.  
  
"Light the pyre for my dignity…" Taka grumbled.  
  
"Oh come on. It'll look great on you! Here, you want me to help you put it on?"  
  
"I changed my mind. I will take my chances."  
  
"Ah, shaddup and c'mere."    
  
After struggling with Taka like he was a disobedient cub, including lots of fiddling, griping, pulling and complaining, she eventually managed to get the collar around his neck. She grinned once the deed was done and took a step back to admire her handiwork.  
  
Taka stood there, a scowl on his face, using one of his forepaws to fiddle with the loop of fabric. It was a very odd look, to be sure. The human-made collar completely clashed with the tribal markings he wore and the boomerang still strapped to his back. Roxy belatedly realized that her collar probably clashed with her own markings as well.  
  
"Well? How's it feel?" she asked him.  
  
"Like an Ekans is trying to choke me."  
  
"Oh don't be dramatic, I didn't make it that tight."  
  
Taka let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head in resignation. "All right," he spoke slowly, "Now that _that_ is out of the way, what do you plan to do?"  
  
Roxy stood there for a moment and gave it some thought. Taka looked at her expectantly with a cocked eyebrow. Slowly, her expression changed into a warm smile, and then she held out her paw towards him. Taka eyed it in confusion.  
  
"Let me show you my world," she said.  
  
For a while, Taka just stood there and blinked. He seemed confused by her proposition, even perplexed. He then turned his head and glanced out at what he could see beyond the fence. All that was visible was the sidewalk, the road, and the storefront on the other side, but when he turned back to her his expression had softened a little.  
  
Then, he reached out his own paw towards hers and let her grasp it. "Sure…"  
  
Roxy grinned and nodded somewhat excitedly. Then, she dropped down on all fours, told him to follow her, and darted out onto the sidewalk. Only her ears told her that Taka was following.  
  
It was a wonderfully liberating moment. Roxy had spent so much of her time in the past months hiding and sneaking everywhere. Now that Taka had a collar, the two of them could waltz out into broad daylight and not care who saw them. For the first time in what felt like forever, she was in a place where she didn't feel like she had to be afraid.  
  
So she ran. She ran like the wind with a smile on her face two miles wide. She dashed along the sidewalks while dodging between humans' legs, darted across the crosswalks, and ran along the many paths of the city. It was a place she had never been to before, but it still felt like home. It felt like she knew every inch of this city, in some strange mystical way.  
  
It felt good. It felt so amazing.  
  
Roxy was finally free.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"…and that, over there, that's the Pokémon Center."  
  
"I saw that large building when I was here, but I could never figure out its purpose."  
  
Roxy giggled and nodded. "There's one in almost _every_ city in the whole world. The Pokémon Center is like a hospital for Pokémon!"  
  
Taka gave her a look that said she hadn't done a very good job explaining.  
  
"It's a place for injured and sick Pokémon to get better. They have vets and nurses there to treat Pokémon, cure their wounds, or even perform life-saving surgery. And, for smaller injuries, they've even invented this machine that interacts with Poké Balls and heals Pokémon while they're inside!"  
  
"Truly? So…like what Miri does?"  
  
"Yeah, except it's a machine that does all the small stuff."  
  
"Hm…"  
  
Roxy and Taka had spent the whole day exploring the city, with Roxy talking almost nonstop. Taka had seen most of this before, but Roxy now had an opportunity to explain to him what most of it was. She had told him what traffic lights were and what they meant. They had visited the Pokémon Gym and she had explained the rules of challenging the leader. They had passed by the PokéMart and Roxy had spent almost an hour just talking about products and consumables that humans made. It had taken her more than 10 minutes just to describe all the different kinds of Poké Balls! They had even spent some time in a city park, where they watched humans going about their daily lives and Roxy told Taka about just what went on in a human's daily life.  
  
Every time she saw another human, which was almost every second, it brought a smile to her face. These were her 'people', so to speak, and she had missed them so much. A few friendly humans had passed by them in the park and had given her a friendly pat on the head. Taka, of course, had bristled at their mere approach.   
  
Furthermore, her plan was working. Everyone who saw them barely gave them a second glance because of the collars they wore. Well, they did give them a second look because of their markings and Taka's weapon, but that was all. Even some young punk-looking Pokémon Trainers who specifically looked like they were on the hunt for new Pokémon passed them by without any hesitation.  
  
The highlight of the day, though, had been when they passed by a concession stand selling Poké Puffs. The lovely woman running the stand had immediately gushed at how cute the two of them looked, and had even picked up Roxy to give her a quick hug. Then, to Roxy's disbelief, she gave the both of them a free Poké Puff. The moment Roxy had taken her first bite into the delectable pastry, it was like she was tasting it for the first time. After months and months of berries and not much else, it was one of the best things she had ever eaten. Her taste buds had practically burst with joy.  
  
Taka had disliked it, but Roxy had expected that.  
  
The two were presently standing on the roof of a two-storey building, looking over at the somewhat imposing structure of the Pokémon Center. Roxy was trying to explain the intricacies of what went on inside of it, but Taka looked like all of her words were going in one ear and right out the other.  
  
Instead, she turned her head to the side, looking for something else to show off. "Ah!" she said once she had found it, "Look over there, Taka! That's the Pokémon Trainers' School."  
  
Taka turned his head to look at where she was pointing.  
  
"That's where young humans who just have just started out as Pokémon Trainers go to learn the ropes! From what I hear, they're supposed to be really fun! I dunno, though, I've only ever seen them on TV."  
  
She turned to regard Taka, but he didn't answer. There was a muted expression on his face as he gazed out into the distance.  
  
"Taka?" she spoke up, but still he didn't respond. It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't actually looking in the direction of the school, but off to the east somewhere.  
  
"That's it…" he said in a low voice.  
  
"Huh? What's it?" she asked, trying to follow the direction of his gaze.  
  
Taka helped her out by holding up a paw and pointing. "That building," he spoke, "The large white and grey one with only a few windows."  
  
Roxy scanned the city streets for a moment before she saw what he was indicating. "Oh! That warehouse over there?" It was a fairly large, nondescript building off towards the edge of the city. It was surrounded by others that looked somewhat similar, indicating that it was simply a warehouse for some industrial business.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
Taka turned to her and gave her a hard look. "That is where they killed Izuki."  
  
Roxy felt her blood run cold. "Wh…What…?"  
  
Turning his gaze back in the direction of the warehouse, Taka didn't say anything else. Roxy remembered the story Taka had told about the _gang_ who had killed his mate. It had been a horrifying, chilling story, but now Roxy was being reminded that it took place in this very city. Now, Taka was saying the building where it all happened was right over there, only a few short blocks away?  
  
She was then startled by Taka suddenly darting to the edge of the roof and hopping down to an awning below. "Taka!" she shouted, but he was already gone.  
  
Roxy had no other option but to give chase, and so she quickly hopped off of the roof as well. She was just barely able to catch a glimpse of Taka's tail disappearing around the corner of a building. Luckily, Roxy had a pretty good idea of where he was headed so she simply made her way there as quickly as she could.  
  
Soon enough, Roxy rounded the corner and saw the warehouse standing tall on the next city block. It sat at the top of a small hill, but was otherwise remarkably plain. The only other thing Roxy noticed now that she was closer, was that the building was very old and was starting to fall into disrepair.  
  
Taka was running right up to the building at a determined pace. A jolt of fear ran up Roxy's spine as she quickly followed after him, afraid of what he might do. Rather, she was afraid of who or what might still be inside of the building.  
  
Thankfully, Taka still seemed to have a clear head even in this agitated state, as he ran towards a window instead of the front doors. He quickly clambered up onto the windowsill and looked through the glass at what lied within.  
  
A few seconds later, Roxy joined him on the windowsill. She was panting heavily as she turned to him and said, "What're you _doing_ …?" When Taka didn't answer, she turned and looked inside of the building as well.  
  
The interior of the warehouse was dim and unlit, with only the light of the sun enabling her to see anything at all. There wasn't much inside besides a wide open cement floor that was almost totally barren. There seemed to be a few odd pieces of furniture like tables and chairs, but they were all strewn haphazardly against the walls, covered in dust and in a state of decay. There were a few small piles of rubble in places, as if a wall or two had been torn down.   
  
All in all, it looked like the warehouse hadn't been visited by a single soul in a long time.  
  
Roxy slowly turned her gaze towards Taka, and she was stunned by what she saw. Taka was leaning against the glass with his forepaws, resting his forehead against the thick panes. There was a strange, unsettling look in his eyes. They somehow looked both shaken and empty at the same time. He looked emotionally beaten down, something Roxy had never seen him look like ever before. She wasn't sure, but she swore that she could see a few small tears gathering at the corner of his eye.  
  
"…Taka?" she spoke in a soft, comforting voice, "Are you sure this…is the right building?"  
  
She wasn't sure if he was going to reply, but he did lift his head slightly and nod softly.  
  
Roxy frowned and glanced away. She couldn't imagine what was going through her friend's mind. She herself had gone through the death of a loved one, but it hadn't been nearly as traumatic as what had happened in this very building. Taka's entire personality had been changed by events that took place here.  
  
As she continued to glance around, she saw that the grounds near the warehouse were unkempt and overgrown. There were thorny bushes everywhere and the pavement was all cracked. The main entrance, just off to their right, looked almost like it was completely rusted shut. There was some old, tattered yellow tape with human writing on it hanging from the doors and outer walls.  
  
She turned to look at Taka once more, only to find that he was now hanging his head in defeat. She didn't know what he hoped to accomplish by returning to this building, but it was clear that it was impossible at this point.   
  
"Taka…?" she spoke softly, "Taka, are you all right?"  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
Roxy fidgeted with her paws for a moment, and then spoke up once more. "Taka… There's one more thing I want to show you."  
  
Taka slowly rotated his head so that he could look at her with one eye, and the glower that he gave her said that he was in no mood for any more sightseeing.  
  
"Please?" she asked him imploringly.   
  
At first, Taka turned back to look inside the window once more and didn't answer. After a few full minutes of silence, he heaved a deep sigh and stood back up straight. He then turned to regard her, his expression stony, and jerked his head to the side as if to say, 'Fine. Show me.'  
  
Roxy nodded and hopped off the windowsill. "It's this way…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the spot where Roxy wanted to go. She led Taka up onto the roof of an adjoining building, which gave them a good view of the somewhat large structure before them.  
  
Roxy glanced over at Taka to make sure he was present and listening, and then gestured towards the building with her paw. "Taka…This is a police station."  
  
He regarded her for a moment but didn't reply.  
  
"This is where human policemen and women work. The human world lives by a set of laws, or rules that everybody must follow. It's a structured set of rules set up by the leaders of the human world so that everybody can live a peaceful and happy life. Like any society, though, there are those who will break the rules."  
  
Roxy pointed down towards a window on the front of the building, where a pair of humans in blue uniforms could be seen inside. "The police force exists to uphold these rules and punish those who break them. These are humans who dedicate everything to making sure that everyone lives fairly and follows the rules…even if it costs them their own life. When someone breaks the rules, they're called a ' _criminal_ ', and the police do everything they can to stop them."  
  
She then directed his attention to a larger but shorter building situated behind the police station. "Back there, Taka…That's a prison. I know you can't see much from the outside, but the prison is where humans who break the rules are kept. When the police capture criminals, they lock them in sealed rooms inside of the prison, so that they won't be able to break the rules again. If the criminals are dangerous or violent, and especially if they've taken the innocent life of someone else, then they go to a bigger prison with harsher punishment and more humans watching them to make sure they learn their lesson."  
  
Roxy turned to look at Taka, and he in turn looked at her as well. He seemed interested in what she was saying, but his expression also showed that he was wondering where she was going with all of this.  
  
"Taka, I saw police tape on that warehouse. It was old, so that meant it was put up a long while ago." At his raised eyebrow, she elaborated. "When police find criminals, or a place where criminals have been, they put that tape up so regular people stay away while they do their police work, and to keep everyone safe.  
  
"So…Taka, I think that the _gang_ that was using that building to do…whatever…They were probably caught, Taka. The police probably found them and shut down that horrible experiment they were doing, and they were all thrown in jail."  
  
She gave him a reassuring smile. She wasn't telling the entire truth to him, as she didn't know if the police raided the building while they were using it, or found the base of operations after the gang had already left it behind. It didn't matter at the moment, though, because she just wanted to cheer Taka up.  
  
Taka glanced over his shoulder at the prison.  
  
"If I remember correctly," Roxy added, "'Cruelty to Pokémon' is a five-year sentence, and whoever was in charge of the whole thing probably spent even more time in prison."  
  
Taka turned so he was fully facing away from her, and he stood there in silence for a few minutes. He simply stared in the general direction of the police station and the prison.  
  
Finally, she heard him heave another big sigh. "It matters not…" he said in a low tone, though he didn't sound particularly upset.  
  
"Taka?"  
  
"No matter what I do, no matter what happens to those humans, it is not going to bring him back…"  
  
Roxy hesitated for a moment, but then said, "That's true…"  
  
"I could have hunted through the whole forest, dedicating my entire life to finding the predator that took my brother away from me…but that would not have brought him back either."  
  
Upon hearing the mention of Makari, Roxy bit her lip and frowned.  
  
Then, Taka finally turned back around and faced her once more. He was not smiling, but he didn't look troubled anymore. His expression had returned to his classic 'neutral' state. "Thank you for showing me this," he said to her.  
  
"You're welcome, Taka…" She glanced off to the side and sighed softly. "I was so excited to finally get back to the human world, that…Well, I forgot what happened to you in this city. I'm sorry for that…"  
  
Taka shook his head. "I knew we would be returning to this city. In fact, I was leading you here. It is not your fault."  
  
"I'm just happy to see that it's not still happening in there, y'know?"  
  
"Absolutely. No Pokémon deserves to go through that…"  
  
Roxy nodded, and then the two spent a moment in silence. Roxy couldn't deny that her mood had been soured. She hadn't even met Izuki, but it was still a thorn in her heart when she thought about what had happened to him. Roxy had never considered it before, but she and her human family were very lucky to have never been the target of any _gang_ attacks.  
  
"Well," Taka spoke up, "Speaking of you returning to the human world…"  
  
Roxy turned to look at him once more. He still wasn't smiling, but had put on a determined look.  
  
"What is your plan now?" he asked, "I know this is not the city where you live, so how do you plan to get back home?"   
  
She gazed at him for a moment, still concerned about his mental state, but smiled softly when it looked like he had gotten things back under control. "Ah, well…" she said, "There's a couple of options."  
  
Taka nodded. "Okay?"  
  
"First things first, though," she said, and gazed off at a particular building in the distance, "I wanna get a map."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It had been a big relief to find out that the Aspertia City Public Library allowed Pokémon inside, so long as they were with a trainer. By casually walking inside with their collars on, they had been able to fool the attendants into thinking that their 'owners' were inside already.  
  
Roxy smiled at Taka's wide-eyed look, and she reasoned that he had probably never been inside of a human building before, except for that _particular_ one.  
  
"This is the library," she whispered to him. She was amused to see his ears twitch, after which he gave her a quick and serious look. Taka had been conditioned for most of his life to associate whispering with the need to hide from something dangerous. "It's rude to talk loudly inside of one," she clarified for him.  
  
"Oh…" he replied, and Roxy was thankful that he was whispering as well.  
  
"The library has tons and tons of books inside of it, and humans are allowed to borrow them for free as long as they bring them back." Roxy paused. "Do you know what a book is?"  
  
"I think so…" he answered, "They hold…stories, right?"  
  
"For the most part, yes, but some of them hold information about the world around us instead. That's what I'm looking for today."  
  
Roxy led him down the aisles of bookshelves, looking up at the signs to see where the atlases would be stored. Taka stayed close behind her, and the two moved at a slow, respectful pace. They were both still getting some odd looks because of their body paint, but no-one was bothering them.  
  
"Ah! Over here."  
  
She had spotted the 'geography' section of the library and happily made her way over. After scanning the shelves for a short time, she found a world atlas and had Taka help her pull it off of the shelf since it was very thick. She then opened it and flipped forward a few pages, and was greeted by a full map of the world spread out over two pages.  
  
"What is this…?" Taka whispered.  
  
Roxy flashed him a grin. "This is the whole world," she said, "Our entire planet."  
  
Taka didn't reply to that, but she was sure she'd caught a moment of pure awe in his expression.  
  
"Now, let's see…" she said, finding Unova on the map and locating Aspertia City. "Okay! This is where we are right now," she said, pointing at the little dot that represented the city.  
  
"Okay…"  
  
"Now, this…" she continued, moving her paw down to a large solid green shape located to the south of the city, "This green here? This is the forest we just came from. This is…Well, your home, I guess."  
  
"Is that so?" he said, a touch of interest seeping into his tone.  
  
"Aaaaand…" she said, drawing out the word until she found what she was looking for. "Ah! This, right here…This is my home." She lifted her paw and brought it all the way over to Kanto, and pointed at Vermillion City.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Roxy saw Taka's own eyes nearly bulge out of his head. Taka's home forest was just a green blob on the rather large landmass that made up Unova, and Vermillion was on _another_ landmass separated by a _huge_ empty ocean. It was thousands of times further than they had traveled to get to Aspertia from the Thunder Clan.  
  
"Ah…" he murmured, having started to say something but then ended up trailing off.  
  
Roxy giggled softly. "That's a _lot_ farther than you've ever gone in your entire life, huh?"  
  
"In…deed…"  
  
He then turned and gave her a perplexed look. "So…How in the world are you going to get there?" he asked, "It took us weeks just to get out of the forest. You will be a few years from death by the time you get there…"  
  
Roxy stood up from the book, crossed her forelimbs, and gave Taka a rather condescending look. "Taka…" she gently berated, "Now how do you think I _got_ here in the first place?"  
  
Taka opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it and furrowed his brow in thought. "Point."  
  
"Humans have _tons_ of ways to travel long distances. I dunno which one brought me here, but I gotta take one to get back."  
  
Before Taka could say anything else, she darted off and turned around the corner into another aisle. After a couple minutes of searching, she returned to Taka and the opened atlas with a new book in her paws. This one was called ' _Pocket Guide to Transportation_ '. She had mostly grabbed it as a visual aid for Taka.  
  
"Now," she said as she opened the book and flipped through a few of the pages, "Basically I gotta pretend I'm a human tourist who wants to visit Vermillion."  
  
"…Huh?"  
  
"Nothing." She stopped on a page depicting a large commercial airplane. "This is what my Poké Ball was on before…whatever happened to me and I woke up in the forest. It's a big thing that flies through the air and carries people really far in a really short time."  
  
Taka was studying the image with a perplexed look.  
  
"Taking one back would be the obvious choice, but…Well, airport security has gotten _stupid_ strict in the last few years. If I successfully snuck on board one of those, I'd probably end up on the news, so I probably shouldn't."  
  
She flipped forward a few more pages. Taka looked like he hadn't gotten a single word of what she'd said.  
  
"There's a train. That would work, if it wasn't for the ocean. See the tracks? It only runs on land."  
  
"Ah…?"  
  
Once again, she started flipping through more pages.  
  
"Roxy…" Taka interjected, "I…admit to not knowing how things work around here, but have you considered…asking for help?"  
  
Roxy stopped and turned to look at him. "You're suggesting I ask humans for help? But you don't trust humans!"  
  
"I know, but _you_ do. Could you ask a…flying-machine-driver to take you back home? Or what about that Pokémon Center thing? I thought you said it's where Pokémon go when they need help?"  
  
Roxy sighed and replied, "I've thought about it Taka. On paper, it does sound like a good idea. But I keep thinking about what you said…About my Poké Ball being destroyed. I might show up in databases or whatever as a wild Pokémon. Communicating with unfamiliar humans is difficult enough, but if they think I'm a wild Pokémon they're either gonna toss me out or, worse, try to catch me. It _might_ be easier, sure, but…I think I need to rely on myself in this case."  
  
She turned and gave him a smile and added, "And you, of course."  
  
"Makes sense, I suppose…"  
  
"It's too bad my home address isn't listed on my tag. I guess my master never really thought I'd need it, since I always stayed so close to her all the time…"  
  
Taka gave her another perplexed look.  
  
"So!" Roxy said as she flipped a few more pages, and then smiled when she found the right one. "I've got an ocean to cross and I can't take an airplane, so that's what I need." She pointed her paw towards the large picture of a passenger boat on the pages.  
  
While Taka studied it for a moment, Roxy returned her attention to the atlas.  
  
"There's a port here, but I think it's just for shipping," she murmured, mostly to herself, "But…This bad boy is right next door practically. There's sure to be a ship to Vermillion there somewhere!"  
  
When Taka glanced back over in her direction, Roxy pointed at a nearby spot on the map. "What is that?" he asked.  
  
Roxy grinned and replied, "Castelia City! The largest human city in all of Unova, and one of the largest in the whole world!"  
  
She could almost see a few gears shift inside of his head. "Larger…than this?"  
  
"Oh, _waaaaay_ larger."  
  
Taka blinked. "…Way larger…?"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
It was raining. Not a very heavy downpour, but rather a light springtime shower. Half a year ago, Roxy would have been freaking out and looking for shelter. Now, she barely noticed it. It actually felt kind of nice to feel the gentle streams of water run down her fur as she sat on top of the bus stop. The sun had risen about an hour ago, dawning a new day on Aspertia City.  
  
"I'm glad you decided to come with me to Castelia, Taka," she said to her companion sitting beside her, "I think you're gonna like it!"  
  
Taka shrugged. "I want to explore, and this is not terribly far away from the forest's edge. If nothing else, I just want to get away from _this_ particular place."  
  
Roxy nodded sympathetically. "Yeah. Bad memories here…"  
  
"So…Remind me again what we are waiting for?"  
  
"It's called a bus," Roxy explained, "It's a vehicle they use to transport a bunch of humans at a time who are all going to the same place. They're big and box-shaped so it'll be easy to hitch a ride on the roof."  
  
"And this will take us to…the larger city?"  
  
"If we get on the right one. Don't worry, Taka. I know what I'm doing."  
  
For a few tranquil moments, there was silence but for the sound of the falling rain. Like always, even in her old life, Roxy did enjoy listening to the rain. Inside or outside, the sound was very soothing and mesmerizing. It made things seem better than they may have been, like she didn't have a care in the world.  
  
"So," Taka spoke up, "Are you going to explain why you randomly kissed me back there?"  
  
Roxy turned and gave him a glance, then faced forward again and said, "…Oh."  
  
When she didn't answer right away, he prodded her to speak. "Well?"  
  
"I dunno" she said with a shrug, "I got excited. I was so happy to finally be out of the forest I just sorta did things without thinking." She glanced at him again and gave him a little smirk. "What, you didn't enjoy it?" she said, and then stuck out her tongue.  
  
Taka gave her a vexed look in return. "Because…Well, I am sure you know good and well that I-"  
  
"Oh, don't give me the whole song and dance," Roxy interrupted with a wave of her paw, "Miri already told me you go both ways."  
  
At first he was confused, but then when he realized what she had meant he started to look flustered. "Th-that is not what I was going to say!"  
  
Roxy actually ended up bursting out in laughter from that response. At first, Taka was taken aback by this. Then, he grumbled and crossed his forelimbs, giving Roxy a cold stare until she stopped laughing.  
  
"Are you done?" he asked her in a flat voice.  
  
"Heh heh…"  
  
"Can I have the serious answer, now?"  
  
Roxy then sighed and shook her head. "I already gave it to you. I was so overjoyed I just acted without thinking, and I didn't even realize I'd done it until a couple minutes later. I'm sorry if it upset you or anything, Taka. I didn't mean to cross any boundaries."  
  
Taka rolled his eyes. "Fine then…If it is something you did that you now regret, I will not bring it up again."  
  
The pair then sat in silence for a few moments as the rain continued to gently fall around them.  
  
"Well…" Roxy spoke up once more, "I didn't say _that_ …"  
  
Taka turned and gave her a confused look. "Pardon?"  
  
"I didn't mean to do it and I wasn't thinking about it, but…I don't really think I _regret_ doing it." She punctuated her explanation with a shrug.  
  
Taka stared at her. Once again, she could see the gears turning in his head. "What…? Are you saying you are attracted to me?"  
  
"No, no…" Roxy replied with a wave of her paw, "Or, well…Not 'no' exactly, but…I mean…y'know…"  
  
Crossing his forelimbs once more, Taka gave her a hard stare as anger started creeping into his expression. "Then tell me _what_ you mean," he half-shouted.  
  
Roxy then sighed and closed her eyes as she gathered her thoughts for a moment. The sound of the rain helped her to see her own thoughts in a little more clarity.   
  
She then turned to look at Taka fully and smiled comfortingly. "I like you, Taka. We've come a long way since we first met, and I really do think of you as a good friend now. You're always looking out for me…Keeping me safe. Even on the very, very first day you met me, you saved me from that Zangoose."  
  
Though his gaze had softened quite a bit, Taka still did not say anything and simply continued to look at her.  
  
"I guess the point is…" Roxy said slowly, "I'm not saying 'yes', but…I'm also not saying 'no'."  
  
Taka blinked once, but otherwise his expression did not betray his reaction to what she had said.  
  
Roxy's gaze then fell and she frowned. "A part of me wishes we didn't have to go our separate ways, so we could…see?" She sighed in frustration. "I dunno…I'm jumping, like, _way_ ahead here. I'm not even close to that sort of point in my life, _if_ that's the way I want it to go in the first place, even."  
  
"I see…" Taka said slowly, "…What about Makari?"  
  
Her head lifted up to look at him, but she answered in a calm and collected voice. "I love Makari. I love him so deeply with all of my heart, and I always will. Even though he's…gone now…I will still always love him." Her face screwed up in emotional pain for a moment, but she got past it. "No matter what happens, I will always love Makari," she then said, "but…Well…" Roxy sighed, shook her head, and put on a bittersweet smile. "I think there's room in my heart for another…"  
  
Taka just sat there after she had finished, an unreadable expression on his face.  
  
Roxy chuckled softly. "Above everything else, Makari always wanted me to be happy…" she said in a melancholy tone, "He's watching me now, silently urging me towards the things that will make me happier… If I find another Pokémon to love, so long as they understand that I will also love Makari, I think it will work."  
  
"Hm…"  
  
With that, the conversation died out and was replaced with a very uncomfortable silence. While it was true that Roxy had started to feel better and better about the idea of looking for love again, that was all in the future once she was back home. She hadn't actively considered Taka, or _any_ one she knew for that matter, but her mind wandered sometimes and all she knew was that she wasn't opposed to the idea.  
  
Either way, Roxy wanted to talk about something else. "So, tell me about your plans? What're you gonna do once I set sail for Kanto?"  
  
Taka took a few moments to reply. "I think I will stay within a few days travel of the forest for quite some time. There is a lot of this world to explore, and no need to reach the ends of the earth right at the start. I have absolutely no inclinations to return home, but I cannot see the future. I feel like it is in my best interest to not cut ties so quickly."  
  
Roxy smiled and nodded. "That's smart thinking."  
  
"Do not worry, though, I will still help you sneak aboard the water…thing, if necessary."  
  
"It's called a _boat_ ," Roxy replied, giggling, "Are you gonna keep wearing the collar?"  
  
"Absolutely not."  
  
She snickered. "Well, it was nice knowin' ya."  
  
"If this city we are going to is as big as you say…Well, I spent weeks exploring just _this_ city and never got bored."  
  
"Oh, there's _tons_ to see in Castelia. I've never been there, but it's such a famous place. If you can figure out a way to get one, then get a Casteliacone."  
  
Taka gave her an odd look. "A _what_?"  
  
"It's food. They sell them from little carts on the streets. Trust me, eat one."  
  
"…All right, I suppose…I tried human food once. I am surprised Izuki still wanted me after how sick I got."  
  
Roxy laughed. "Oh my gosh, what did you have?"  
  
"You expect me to remember? With what it did to me, I hope to never think of it again…"  
  
She then glanced at him for a moment in thought. "Taka?" she said. When he looked at her, she gave him an encouraging smile. "I hope…you might think of Izuki in the same way. I never met him, obviously, but…I know he wants you to be happy too."  
  
Taka's gaze softened, then hardened into a frown, and softened once more. He shut his eyes and looked away from her, but then eventually let out a cleansing sigh. "If I can…" he said quietly.  
  
"Don't worry, Taka… I know you can." Roxy reached over and gave him a comforting pat on the back.  
  
Roxy then took a moment to glance over her shoulder. It still gave her a thrill to see buildings and skyscrapers back there instead of an endless sea of trees. It felt like she would never stop being amazed at the fact that she had made it. The fact that she was no longer in that forest.  
  
She smiled to herself as hope and excitement welled up in her.  
  
The fact that she was on her way home.


	33. The Last Goodbye

It was a typical spring day in the modern metropolis that was Castelia City. Weather or season hardly ever affected the constant flow of humans, vehicles and Pokémon in this sprawling city, but at least people could go about their day with a smile on their face and no rain falling on their heads. Two Pikachu were walking down the road next to the city's large port. One was positively beaming. She was very excited, and happy to begin the second-last leg of her long journey home.   
  
The other was staring at the city around him in utter shock. It was a marvel that he could even get his legs to move. Taka's wide eyes and even wider mouth had not closed since the moment he had laid eyes on the collection of massive skyscrapers. He looked like he was in a daze.  
  
Roxy snickered and bumped him with her hindquarters. "Snap out of it or you're gonna run into a street sign."  
  
"I… _never_ imagined…"  
  
"Yes, Taka, so you've said about 50 times now."  
  
" _Never_ …imagined… _anything_ like this…"  
  
She couldn't help but giggle. It was one of the few times that Taka's mask was slipping and she could see the more raw emotions underneath. Taka looked like a newborn cub who was seeing the beautiful world for the first time in his life. It was kind of adorable.  
  
"How could…? There is so much…!" Taka murmured.  
  
"That's humans for ya," Roxy replied, "They imagine, they build, they live."   
  
"How many humans live in this city??"  
  
"Ohhh, uhhh…" Roxy said, stalling for a moment as she tried to remember the answer, "About…seven or eight million?"  
  
Taka stopped walking and held a paw to his forehead.  
  
"Taka? What's up?"  
  
"Ah…Nothing…" He shook his head and then took a few more steps, but then stopped and held his paw to his forehead again. "Ugh…"  
  
"What's wrong?" Roxy asked in concern.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Taka…" She said sternly.  
  
He sighed and relented. "I feel dizzy…"  
  
Roxy at first frowned, but a moment later smiled sympathetically when she realized what was going on. "You've got vertigo from looking up at the skyscrapers too much. Sorry, I guess this really is a bit overwhelming, huh?"  
  
Taka merely closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his muzzle.  
  
"Here, turn around and look at the ocean instead."  
  
He nodded and followed her instructions, and both Pikachu ended up standing there for a moment looking at the various different types of watercraft in the Castelia Harbor. There were Butterfree in Roxy's stomach. One of those boats was going to take her home…  
  
"So?" Roxy asked, turning to look at Taka, "What'cha think?"  
  
"…To be completely honest, it does not feel real. I am picturing what lies behind me, and my mind is trying to tell me it is but a fantasy…"  
  
Roxy giggled at that. "Yeah, Castelia's one of the biggest cities in the whole world. It's not the _biggest_ of them all, but it's still pretty massive."  
  
"How long did all of this take…?"  
  
"Oh gosh, I dunno. A couple hundred years at least… I think this used to be an old trading post or something, and it just grew and grew and grew!"  
  
Instead of replying, Taka just stared out at the sea. There was a contemplative look on his face.  
  
"What?"  
  
"So, this is what happens when death does not hide behind every tree?"  
  
Roxy blinked once, and then a frigid shiver ran up her spine. "Y-yeah…That's what it means to be the top of the food chain."  
  
"Clearly…"  
  
On that rather somber note, the two lapsed into silence for a couple moments and just stared at the sea. There was constant noise all around them, a wild cacophony of human voices, Pokémon cries and machinery. It could hardly be called relaxing, even when this close to the crisp smell of the ocean.  
  
"So…What can be found in this city?" Taka asked.  
  
"Hm? Oh, well pretty much every city on the globe has at least some of the same stuff. You're almost guaranteed to find a Pokémon Center, a Pokémon Mart, a police station, and a hospital. There's a good chance you'll find a library somewhere, and oftentimes a Pokémon Gym. There's one here somewhere, I think…  
  
"Beyond that, I know there's an art gallery here. I dunno, you might enjoy that, but I don't think Pokémon are allowed inside. There's Castelia Cones, as I said. There's some places to get good food, a nice big park, and a big place called a 'University' where humans go to learn. I'm not sure, but I think there's also a big video game development studio here…"  
  
Taka watched her silently as she spoke, and then nodded when she was finished.  
  
"Lots of fun stuff to do! You'd get a better answer if you ask someone who actually lives here!" she said, and then gave him a friendly grin. A moment of thought passed, and her grin faded away. "Hey…" she then said, "Are you gonna be all right here…?"   
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Y'know…" She lowered her gaze to the ground and mumbled the next few words. "…After I'm gone…?"  
  
She thought she saw Taka's face harden as he realized what she meant, but he glanced away. It took him a noticeably long time to form an answer. "I will admit, it is very beneficial to have you by my side while I am out here. You know this world better than I ever could…" He then closed his eyes and shook his head. "I will be fine, though."  
  
"Is there anything I can do before we…" She trailed off before finishing the statement.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I don't know…Anything you want to know? Anything you want me to explain?"  
  
"…I cannot think of anything off the top of my head, no."  
  
"It's a big city, Taka. I don't want you to-"  
  
"Roxy," he spoke up, interrupting her, "Do not worry about me. The important thing is for you to get home. Do not lose sight of your goal now that you are so close."  
  
"I, uh…" Roxy frowned as she gazed up at his stern but not unfriendly gaze.  
  
"Now, come. You need to figure out which of these boats to get on." He took a few steps in the direction of the harbor and turned to give her an encouraging tilt of his head.  
  
Roxy glanced behind him at all of the ships both moored to the harbor, and floating in the waters. In her heart, she knew that Taka was right. He was a strong Pokémon and he could take care of himself, while she still didn't know what her next step was. So, she gave him a nod as she stepped past him and made her way down to the docks.  
  
The Castelia City Harbor was fairly busy, but not as busy as the rest of the city. It wasn't too much trouble to travel to the different piers so Roxy could read the signs next to each of them. She saw the daily service ferries to Liberty Garden and Unity Tower, as well as a few larger ferries headed for nearby cities and islands. As they moved towards the east, they even got a view of the absolutely massive _Royal Unova_ cruise ship sitting at the dock. Roxy had heard stories about how wonderfully luxurious a ride on that ship was.  
  
It was at the second-last pier of the harbor, after Roxy had started to get a little bit worried, that she found what she was looking for. "Ah!" she perked up once she saw the sign, "Oh my gosh, this is it!"  
  
"What?" Taka said, walking next to her and gazing up at the sign in confusion, "What does it say?"  
  
" _PokéTravel Cruise Lines: Explore Kanto aboard the_ Splendour of Unova _. Departing for Vermillion City – April 3._ "  
  
Roxy gasped at her good fortune. "That's tomorrow!!" she shouted excitedly to Taka. She knew what day it was from reading a newspaper back in Aspertia, and the current date was April 2nd.   
  
"This boat is going to your home, and it leaves tomorrow?" Taka asked, confirming what she was saying.  
  
"Uh huh!" she said as she nodded her head enthusiastically. In truth, Roxy hadn't known what to expect at this harbor. It could have been the case that she would have had to transit to other cities on the way home, perhaps a whole lot, or if there was one going to Vermilion, that it wouldn't leave for a number of days. This, however, was very fortuitous!  
  
"I see," Taka commented, "And you are certain that this is going to your intended location?"  
  
"Yeah! Right there!" She pointed up at one of the words. " _Vermillion._ That's my home!!" She then stifled a squeal and waved her paws excitedly. "I'm gonna be home in a couple of days!!"  
  
Taka nodded. "Well then, that is indeed good news. I am happy for you."  
  
Roxy turned to look at Taka, a huge smile plastered on her face, but then reality started to return to her. Her smile faded away as she realized the fact that this blessing was a double-edged sword. It was true that she would get to set out for home in less than 24 hours.  
  
That also meant, however, she had less than 24 hours left to spend with Taka.  
  
After a moment of somewhat awkward silence, Roxy cleared her throat. "Right," she said, "I just gotta make sure I'm back here early tomorrow morning so I don't miss it."  
  
"I will make sure you are here on time."  
  
"Thanks. What, uh…What should we do until then…?"  
  
"…I would not mind finding something to eat."  
  
"Okay, yeah. Right," Roxy said with a nod, "Yeah, sure, we can do that! And then I can show you around the city, just so you won't get lost…later…" She hid a frown from him by glancing away.   
  
"Very well."  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
In the end, the day passed rather unceremoniously. They had found some food, explored the city, and even ventured over to look at the Skyarrow Bridge. The whole time, Roxy kept wanting to do something special; something exciting that they would both remember forever. It was the last day they were going to spend together, and she was probably never going to see him again.   
  
However, that notion never got past the drawing board. It had been a fun day, of course, and it seemed like Taka had genuinely enjoyed himself. Throughout the day, though, Roxy found she just couldn't shake the thought that he was going to be gone soon. The last hours of their companionship were ticking away, and it constantly felt like she wasn't making the most of them.  
  
Now it was nighttime. The two had made their way to the rooftop of a skyscraper, where they planned to spend the night. The moon was overhead, the city was still just as loud down below, and Roxy found herself simply lying on her side with a distant expression on her face.  
  
Her excitement upon realizing she was about to go home had lasted only a couple of minutes. Now, she was having trouble getting excited at all. Her desires hadn't changed, and she never once doubted that the only thing she wanted to do was to go home.  
  
Still, though, she couldn't help but feel depressed.  
  
Even though it had only been six months, Roxy felt like she had known Taka forever. She felt like she couldn't remember a time without him somewhere nearby. No matter how rocky their relationship had started out as, she had really and truly grown to see him as a close friend. He had done so much to help her over the months, and she had an endless amount of things to thank him for. He had been her constant companion for the dangerous journey through the forest.  
  
To tell the truth, Roxy didn't want him to leave her side.  
  
"Get some sleep."  
  
Roxy started slightly, and rolled over to look at Taka who was standing by her side.  
  
"The last thing you want to do is oversleep and miss that boat," he said to her. He was wearing his most classic facial expression; one that was completely neutral and devoid of any emotion. She was certain he was feeling some sort of emotion underneath, but that mask of his was perfect.  
  
"Oh. Yeah, of course…"   
  
Taka took a seat a few metres away from her and promptly curled up into a comfortable sleeping position. Roxy hesitated for a few moments before doing the same. It was a little chilly out, but no colder than she had experienced while sleeping in trees the last couple of weeks. Either way, she couldn't wait to spend a night in her own little bed. Oh, how she missed it.  
  
It was a clear night overhead, though, allowing Roxy to see the moon and the stars. While she had glimpsed them before, it was wonderful to see them without a blanket of trees obscuring her  vision. It was just one of the many little things that she never realized how much she had missed. Now she could see them in all their infinite splendour. A vast, endless expanse that seemed to be both frightening and beautiful, and she felt like she could see it all.  
  
"…Taka?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Roxy fidgeted with her paws for a moment, unsure about whether to go ahead with her query or not. "Um…" she mumbled in a quiet voice, "What do you think…Makari would say if he was with us right now?"  
  
When at first all she got in response was silence, Roxy visibly cringed. She feared that she had struck a sour chord and had made Taka upset. The thought didn't exactly make her smile either, but she was afraid she had crossed another line.  
  
"He would not be able to sleep," Taka finally responded.  
  
"Huh…?" Roxy uttered confusedly.   
  
"…for he would not be able to stop telling you how proud he is."  
  
Roxy actually rolled over to look at him upon hearing that response. She saw that he was curled up and facing away from her. "…Really?" she peeped.  
  
Taka chuckled, and she thought she could hear a bit of mirth in his voice. "Does that not sound like him?"  
  
"I…Yeah, I suppose it does…" Roxy said as a bittersweet smile graced her lips.  
  
"There are all these marvelous wonders of the human world around us, but his eyes would stay fixed upon you. I can picture him saying something like 'Nothing these humans have built is as beautiful, _or_ as amazing as you are.'"  
  
Roxy blushed a little. "He was a sweet-talker…"  
  
"I…" Taka actually trailed off for a moment, catching Roxy by surprise. When he spoke next, there was just a touch of melancholy in his tone. "He would have thanked you _endlessly_ for saving my life…"  
  
A brief shudder ran up her spine as she recalled the incident with the Seviper. "I-I'm sure he would've saved you much better than I could've…"  
  
"Perhaps, but perhaps not…"   
  
There was a fairly long pause, and Roxy returned to lying on her back and looking up at the stars.  
  
"He was worried…" Taka's voice floated through the air once more.  
  
Roxy turned her head to look in Taka's direction. "Huh? What d'you mean?"  
  
"He was worried quite a lot actually…He would always hide it from you, but he shared this fact earnestly with me."  
  
"But…Worried about what? Makari never got worried about anything!"  
  
"He was afraid that he would fail you, Roxy," Taka replied, speaking softly, "He was worried that he would make a mistake, slip up somehow, and end up getting you hurt or worse. He had always been a confident Pokémon, but it seemed there was never confidence enough when it came to making sure you were safe and happy. Failing you was a frightening thought that rarely left him alone."  
  
Taka's words rested in her mind for a moment, and she slowly rolled onto her back to face the stars again. She felt so incredibly touched by the thought that Makari cared about her safety _that_ much. "Wow…" she whispered.   
  
"He was one of a kind."  
  
"…Hey, Taka?" Roxy spoke up after a pause, "Makari would have been really proud of you too. The journey through that forest is really difficult, but you did it _three_ times! That's incredible, Taka, and I know that Makari would have been so proud to call you his brother. I'm sure…up there, he still is."  
  
Taka sighed softly. "I like to think so…"  
  
The conversation faded away for a moment, and Roxy spent a few minutes just listening to the sounds of the city that never slept. Despite how noisy it was, it all sort of blended together into a white noise and was soothing in a strange sort of way.  
  
"I hope you know, that…" Roxy spoke up once more. She hesitated for a moment, but then continued. "I never met him," she said, "but…Izuki would have been really proud of you too. What you've done for me is so selfless, and he struck me as the kind of Pokémon who would really value that."  
  
Taka responded with silence, and Roxy frowned. Yet again there was that fear that she had overstepped a boundary. She knew that Taka was still not completely at peace with losing Izuki, but she felt that needed to be said.  
  
"…Thank you."  
  
Roxy's ears perked up in surprise when she heard those two simple words leave Taka's mouth.  
  
"Now get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow."  
  
She turned her head and stole one last glance at the other Pikachu. He was still curled up, and hadn't looked in her direction once during this whole conversation. Still, though, she smiled. They had both been through a lot of pain, yet were both still here today breathing. Roxy was proud of herself for getting this far, and just as proud of Taka for all that he had done. At the end of the day, they both had exciting lives that would continue forth, and would have many amazing stories to tell for years to come.  
  
Finally, Roxy rested her head and closed her eyes. She did, after all, have a big day tomorrow. It was a day that didn't exactly look bright in her future, despite the golden dream it would eventually lead to. So, instead, Roxy chose to focus on the present.  
  
She could sleep soundly, knowing she and Taka had made it this far and managed to survive everything life had thrown at them.  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"That…is a big boat."  
  
Roxy's neck hurt, because she had to lean it so far back just to see the entirety of the cruise ship she was about to board. It was massive, easily dwarfing the tiny little dock it was moored to. Roxy supposed it had to be this large for a voyage that would span the length between two continents. She didn't know how long a cruise from Unova to Kanto was, but her guess was that she would be on the water for about eight days.   
  
Still, though…That was a _big_ boat.  
  
"That…thing floats on the water…?" Taka asked, disbelief clearly evident in his voice.  
  
"Yeah. It's floating right now."  
  
"You are certain that this humongous…thing is going to remain afloat as it crosses _that_ -" Taka gestured towards the ocean and the horizon. "-and take you all the way home."  
  
Roxy shook her head to clear away her dizziness and regarded Taka. "Yeah, no, of course it will! I'm not worried about it, Taka. I know cruise ships like this. People and Pokémon ride them _all_ the time. It's just I've…never seen one this close before…"  
  
"Hm…"  
  
"Or one this _big_ … other than the _Royal Unova_!"  
  
The dock was full of activity. Tons of humans were milling about, some of them working and some of them passengers that were about to board the ship. Roxy saw a lot of families hugging each other and saying goodbye. There was a whole plethora of Pokémon too, some of them pets and some of them trained Pokémon that were simply out of their Poké Balls. It was very easy to blend in with the crowd, even with their unusual markings.  
  
Roxy was leading Taka to the far end of the dock, where the front of the ship was pointed out to sea. She could see along the way plenty of mooring lines attached to the side of the ship, securing it to the dock.   
  
"Are you sure climbing one of these is the best course of action?" Taka asked, "We have not had to sneak into places before because of these _things_ on our necks."  
  
Roxy shook her head. "This is different than something like the library. Humans and Pokémon have to sign up in advance to get on a ship like this. There's humans on the gangway over there, and they're making sure everybody, human and Pokémon, who gets on has a ticket. Obviously, I don't have one."  
  
"I see…"  
  
Eventually the two of them reached the very end of the dock. There were far less people at this end, since they were mostly gathered around the gangway. They made their way over to the very last moor and slipped behind it, which gave them as much privacy as they could get on such a busy dock.  
  
"Well, uh…" Roxy murmured, "Here I am…"  
  
Roxy and Taka now stood at the end of a mooring line that was tied around the moor next to them. The other end was attached to a point just below the bow of the ship, through a small opening just barely large enough for Roxy to squeeze through. The final challenge of her journey, getting aboard the ship undetected, was right in front of her.  
  
"Indeed…" Taka replied.  
  
Roxy glanced up at the mooring line for a moment, and then turned to look at Taka. He looked back at her, his expression a mask of neutrality as it usually was. "Um…" she muttered, "Gee, I guess this is it…huh?"  
  
Taka glanced up the mooring line as well, and then gave her a short nod.  
  
'What now??' Roxy thought, 'This is the very, very last time you're ever gonna see him, so what're you supposed to do…?' She fidgeted and rubbed the back of her neck, finding herself at a complete loss for words.  
  
"I, uh…" she eventually said, "I guess I should…um…" After a few seconds of fumbling over her words completely, Roxy sighed in exasperation and shook her head. She then simply stepped forward and wrapped her forelimbs around Taka, giving him a friendly hug.  
  
Taka stiffened in response, hesitated, and then hugged her back.  
  
When she stepped back, Roxy tried to smile as she looked at him. "I'm gonna miss you so much…" she said, speaking straight from her heart, "For how awful a lot of it has been, it was really nice to meet you, and the tribe, and getting to spend time with you. I'm never gonna forget you!"  
  
Taka hummed for a moment, and then spoke. "I suppose I would be lying if I said I would not miss you as well. You have made an impact on my life in many ways."  
  
"I wish I could write to you, or talk to you somehow…" Roxy lamented. A feeling of hurt was brewing in the pit of her stomach. This wasn't the first time Roxy had bid farewell to someone. Quite a few of her friends from the neighbourhood had moved away and she hadn't seen them since. The difference was that the human world had video phones and quick ways to send messages to each other. It was so easy that even a Pokémon could do it.   
  
This likely would not be the case with Taka, and it _definitely_ wouldn't be the case for the rest of the Thunder Clan in their isolated village.  
  
Taka shook his head. "Memories may be all that either of us have, but it will be enough. No matter what happens in the future, it cannot change what happened in the past."  
  
Roxy sighed as she started to feel empty and depressed. It was a really weird feeling to describe. Her desire to go home was just as strong as it had ever been, if not even stronger for how close she was. Though she would miss him greatly, Roxy had no desire to stay with him or to go traveling with him.   
  
Rather, she just didn't want to have to leave him.  
  
When she felt something wet running down her cheek, she chuckled dryly and wiped the tear away with her paw. "I'm still a crybaby…" Roxy murmured.  
  
"Roxy, there is no need for tears," Taka commented, "You are finally going home. You are going to see your family again…" Taka's voice trailed off for a moment as he glanced away. "I am sure your family…misses you very much."  
  
Roxy shook her head and said, "No. I'm going home no matter what. Nothing can stop me." She then paused and hung her head a little. "I just wish it didn't have to be so hard…"  
  
Now it was Taka's turn to dryly chuckle. "Nothing worth doing is ever easy."  
  
"I know…"  
  
"Sometimes it seems like things are impossible, or there is no right choice, or that whatever you do, it will leave you feeling unhappy… Times like those, you simply have to ask yourself what it is you want." Taka then looked her in the eyes once more. "You know what you want. Correct?"  
  
Roxy blinked and then nodded. "I want to go home…"  
  
To her surprise, a tiny smile graced the edge of his lips. "Then go home. Worry not about me, Roxy. I will be just fine."  
  
She knew that what he'd said was meant to be uplifting, and it was meant to make her feel better about the fact that they were about to part ways. Even so, she couldn't help but sob a little louder.  
  
"I…wouldn't be standing here right now if it wasn't for you…" she said through her sobbing, "I would have been dead on the very first day…Zangoose food…You and your brother both did so much for me, and even when he was…gone and things got strained between us, you still kept on helping me. I know it hasn't really been that long, but it feels like you're a part of my life now. That's why it hurts so much…"  
  
"Roxy, I would not be standing here if were not for _you_. You still do not give yourself enough credit. You say that I am a part of your life? Well, that is fine, but is anything going to change that? Even if we are parted, I will still be in your thoughts and your memories."  
  
Roxy sniffled. "I know…It still hurts so much though…"  
  
"It will, for a time, but you will get past it," Taka replied, "That…is something you taught me."  
  
She blinked at him through her tear-filled eyes, and realized that he was talking about Makari.   
  
"And you will have someone to help you through it. You will have…your family."  
  
"I just wish it didn't have to be like this…"  
  
Taka simply shook his head, and then took a step forward and laid a paw on her shoulder. "You have been away long enough," he said in an eerily calm voice, "It is time to go home."    
  
A few quiet moments passed by between the two of them. Roxy stood there, wordlessly looking at Taka as tears continued to run down her cheeks. She knew that it hurt right now, but she also knew that it would hurt even more if she did not get on that boat and go home. As her thoughts drifted towards home, and the overjoyed face of her master once the two were finally reunited, Roxy slowly began to smile through her tears.  
  
When she focused back on Taka, she saw that he looked contemplative. She gave him an inquiring look, so he spoke. "Perhaps one day…I will understand the kind of love you hold for…" He trailed off for a moment and glanced behind him. Roxy saw him cast a distrustful gaze at the human dockworkers behind him. "…a human."  
  
"…Give them a chance," she said once he was facing her again, "They're not all bad."  
  
Taka simply nodded.  
  
Roxy paused in thought for a moment, and then spoke up again. "Taka…? Can you promise me one thing?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
She gave him an earnest look. "I don't know if it will ever happen but…If you _do_ return to the Thunder Clan someday…please tell them I made it home safely, and that I miss all of them every day and think about them constantly. Tell them there's not enough time in the world for me to thank them enough for everything they've done, and…" Roxy bit her lip. "Even though you don't really like it, can you…give Miri a hug?"  
  
Roxy saw mixed emotions behind Taka's mask as she said this. When she was done with her request, he gave her a nod and said, "I will."  
  
"Thank you…" She gave him a smile.  
  
"Hey! You two!"  
  
Both Pikachu's ears sprung up and they quickly turned towards the unexpected voice. Taka nearly dropped right into a combat position, while irrational fears started to flood Roxy's mind as if she had just been caught doing something illegal.  
  
The Pokémon that had snuck up behind them amidst the loudness of the port was a very large Machamp. Roxy did relax just a little when she saw that he was wearing a vest with the Castelia City Harbor's logo on it and realized he was a dockworker. Taka only eased up once he saw that she did.  
  
"If you two don't hurry, you're going to miss the boat," he said, pointing one of his four arms towards the gangway.  
  
Roxy fully relaxed once she realized that he was just trying to be helpful and thought that they were a pair of lost passengers. "Oh, right," she said to him, "Thank you."  
  
Unfortunately, this didn't make him leave. "Departure is in a couple of minutes. They are going to raise the gangplank soon, and once that happens you will be left behind. Have your owners bo-"  
  
Roxy loudly cleared her throat to interrupt him. "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but…" She gestured towards Taka with a raised eyebrow. "My mate and I were trying to share a 'private goodbye' before I have to leave."  
  
She saw Taka give her an incredulous expression, but she furtively tapped him on the back with her tail to shut him up.  
  
Her statement seemed to have the intended effect on the Machamp, as his face turned just a hint redder and he said, "Oh! I, beg your pardon. I did not mean to intrude…" Then, without another word, he turned and left.  
  
Roxy sighed in relief once he was gone. She _did_ need to board soon, and she didn't want any Machamp around to watch her stow away on board the ship.  
  
"Your 'mate'?"  
  
Taka's question caused her to flush suddenly and quickly turn to face him. "Ah, heh heh…" she chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, "Thank goodness I didn't have to actually kiss you to convince him…"  
  
It took him a moment. "…Oh. So you were making it look like-"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"When you were actually-"  
  
"Yup."  
  
Cue awkward silence.  
  
"Yeah, so…" Roxy glanced over her shoulder at the large ship behind her for a moment. "I actually should get on board now. It's going to leave soon."  
  
"Indeed. The time has come."  
  
Roxy hesitated for a short moment, and then reached out her paw towards him. She wasn't crying anymore. It was as if the reality of what she was about to achieve was finally settling in. Losing Taka would hurt, but she was going home. It was finally given a chance to make her feel excited again.  
  
Taka took her paw and shook it without pause. "Return home, brave warrior," he said to her, "Make your master proud."  
  
She nodded. "I just…Y'know, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You, and your brother, and the whole tribe…You've been so amazing and so great…and just…I…"  
  
"Roxy," Taka said, interrupting her with a semi-serious look, "Do you recall why there is no speaking at our tribe's funerals?"  
  
At first she was caught off-guard by the seemingly random question. "Uh…Because the…deceased's accomplishments should be able to stand on their own without being spoken?"  
  
Taka nodded, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.   
  
She chuckled. "You're right, Taka. I've babbled on too much already, haven't I?"  
  
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps…"  
  
Roxy sighed softly and gave him a smile. "Just…Thank you."  
  
"And thank you for everything you have done as well."  
  
His response made her glance away bashfully. Before either of them could say anything else, though, the air was suddenly filled with a nearly-deafening blaring sound. Roxy jumped in surprise before realizing it was the cruise ship's foghorn, while Taka was so startled he had dropped onto all fours and drawn his boomerang. Roxy giggled a little at his antics and wished she could explain to him what the noise was, but knew that she couldn't.  
  
"That's my ride," she said, slightly regretfully, "I gotta go."  
  
Taka relaxed and glanced up at the ship once, seeming to realize it had been where the sound had originated from. "Ah. Yes, you had better hurry before someone sees you."  
  
"Goodbye, Taka."  
  
"Farewell, Roxy. Safe journey home."  
  
There was a split second where a pain shot through Roxy's heart, now that the moment had truly come and she had no choice but to leave his side. She wanted to rush forward and give him one last warm hug, but she knew that she truly did not have time. Her priorities straightened out in her head, she quickly turned on the spot and hopped onto the thin mooring line.  
  
Traversing the thin rope was about as easy as balancing on a tree branch, so Roxy didn't have any trouble. She stole a quick glance to her left, and saw that pretty much all of the dockworkers were busy removing the gangplank. No-one was looking in her direction, so she took her chance before she could lose it. She dashed up the line as quick as she could.  
  
About halfway up the line, something compelled her to pause and look over her shoulder. She saw Taka still standing there, watching her go. She held his gaze for about a second before quickly dashing up the rest of the mooring line. Once she reached the side of the ship, she quickly got to work on squeezing herself through the tiny hole that the mooring line fed into. It was tighter than she had expected, and it took some wriggling before she managed to pop herself inside.  
  
Roxy found herself in what she described as the 'innards' of the ship. She was surrounded by piping and the internal structuring of the boat. Her only source of light was the hole she'd just climbed through, and the smell was decidedly less than pleasant. The rope she had just climbed was attached to a winch-like device, which looked like it would 'spool' the line up once it was released from the dock.  
  
Once she was certain no-one had seen her, since no-one was shouting to go and catch her, she decided to poke her head back out of the hole. She looked down at the dock and saw Taka, but only for a brief moment. As soon as she laid eyes on him, he suddenly darted away and hid himself behind some crates stacked on the dock nearby.  
  
The reason soon became clear, as a dockworker was making his way down the dock and releasing all of the mooring lines. She watched him untie the line next to hers, and watched as it was practically 'slurped' up by the winch inside the boat. She then ducked her head down before the worker could get to her line.  
  
After a moment, she saw the line go slack and heard a gentle splash as the rope fell in the water. She waited a few seconds, but nothing else happened. Curious, she carefully peeked out of the hole again, and saw that the rope was dangling loosely in the water below. The dockworker had already disappeared. Roxy turned and looked at the winch behind her, but it wasn't moving. It didn't even look like anything was powering it. Perhaps this one was malfunctioning?  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted when her eardrums nearly blew out a second later. The cruise ship had blown its foghorn again, and the sound was magnified to the extreme in her small, confined spot. She quickly clamped her forepaws over her ears and grimaced.  
  
She immediately got a headache.  
  
Roxy waited almost three whole minutes just sitting there with her ears covered, in case the horn would sound again. Thankfully, though, it didn't. She uncovered her ears, and then realized that she could hear the hum of the ship's engine. The cruise ship was about to depart.  
  
Elation flooded through her. The fact that she had now successfully stowed away on board the cruise ship was becoming real to her, and she let out a quiet but triumphant cheer. Another obstacle successfully passed. The hum of the motor meant that, any moment now, she would be beginning her journey the rest of the way home.  
  
Roxy poked her head out of the hole again, and was surprised to see that the boat was _already_ moving. It was quite slow, but the dock was starting to drift to the right as the boat leisurely began to depart to sea. Roxy scanned the dock for Taka, and found that he had returned to standing next to the moor that her line had been tied to.  
  
He was looking up at her, watching her go. Her joy started to melt into a bittersweet feeling as she watched him slowly drift away, even though it was actually _her_ that was drifting away. The main area of the dock was full of families, human and Pokémon alike, all waving goodbye to passengers that were on the boat. Roxy only cared about the singular Pikachu at the end of the dock, though. Already the boat was starting to speed up, taking her away from him faster and faster.  
  
Then, he raised a paw and started waving goodbye. Roxy's heart caught in her throat at the sight. With a sentimental smile, she leaned out of the hole as far as she dared and lifted her own paw to wave back to him. A couple more tears rolled down her cheeks, but her smile never faltered.   
  
A sudden and _very_ powerful gust of wind ruined the moment by nearly making her topple right out of the hole and into the water. Roxy yelped, caught off guard as the sudden blast of air dislodged her forepaw from the edge and gravity nearly carried her downwards. She quickly scrambled to pull herself back in.  
  
She felt it happen before she even saw it. Lifting her head, her eyes confirmed that it was true. The little red flower, which had remained affixed behind her ear through all of her troubles in the forest, had fallen off and was being swept away by the sea breeze. Roxy only had a few seconds to watch it lazily drift through the air before another gust of wind reminded her that leaning out of this hole was not safe.  
  
Roxy pulled her head back inside of the ship and fell back into a sitting position, her heart beating rather quickly. That had been a close call. What a pathetic end her story would have had if she had fallen overboard and drowned before the ship had even left port.  
  
She then reached up a paw behind her ear, as if somehow the flower had magically come back, but all she felt was fur. A whine escaped her lips and she frowned. Her master had given her that flower on the day she had evolved into a Pikachu, and she had worn it ever since. It had been a gift that she treasured closely, and it hurt to see it flying away like that without anything she could do about it. Sure it was just a flower, but it meant something to her.  
  
"Sorry, master…" she murmured. At least she still had her collar.  
  
The Pikachu sat there for a moment with her back resting against a pipe. Her thoughts shifted to the other Pikachu she had left behind. Like it or not, it was going to take a couple of weeks for him to stop being on her mind constantly. They had grown so close, and had been on such an exciting adventure together, that before yesterday she had not even imagined going on without him.   
  
It was so strange to be in a situation where she felt so happy and so sad at the same time. Going home on this boat meant so many wonderful, exciting things to her. It all had a price, though, and the price was leaving Taka behind. It would be worth it; there was not a single doubt in her head that it would absolutely be worth it. However, it still stung.   
  
"Looks like I lost you both…" she whispered to no-one, and then chuckled softly. "Watch over him, okay Makari? I think you and I both want to see him smile again…"  
  
A loud _clunk_ interrupted her thoughts, sounding like it came from the hull somewhere below her. She glanced around in confusion. A ship this big was bound to make weird noises here and there, yet it had been somewhat loud and noticeable. Her panicky mind couldn't help but remind her that the _Titanic_ was a thing that had happened.  
  
"Don't be stupid, Roxy," she said to herself, "There's no icebergs in the Castelia Harbor."  
  
Another _clunk_ could be heard. This one was closer to where she was. It sounded like someone had thrown a rock at the side of the ship. Confused, Roxy sat up straight and looked around. The first thing she noticed did not provide her with an answer. Rather, it left her even more confused.  
  
The mooring line was taut.  
  
When there was a third _clunk_ , Roxy stood up and stepped over to the hole once more. Though she made sure not to stick her head too far out and risk falling out again, she did peek out and look down at the hull of the ship below her.   
  
What she saw made her loudly gasp.  
  
"…Taka?!"  
  
To her confusion and utter disbelief, Taka was hanging below on the dangling mooring line. He was soaking wet, showing that he had jumped into the water and swam to catch up to the boat. He was already more than halfway up the line, and was only a short distance below her at this point. While Roxy gawked, he lifted his head up to face her and flashed her a smirk.  
  
Gripped securely by his teeth was her flower.  
  
"Taka, what are you _doing_?!"  
  
In a matter of seconds, he ascended the rest of the line and ended up hanging onto the hole in the hull with one of his forepaws. With the other, he grabbed the flower from his mouth and handed it towards her. "I believe you dropped this."  
  
Roxy stared in slackjawed shock for a moment, and then her brain restarted and she grabbed onto Taka by his outstretched wrist. With her help, he was able to climb through the hole and join her in the ship's interior. "Taka, you…!" She was at a loss for words.   
  
Glancing down, she saw that he was still offering her the flower. She took it from him and gently cradled it in her paws. "I…" She looked up into the other Pikachu's eyes, still not quite processing the fact that he was actually there. "Taka, I…appreciate it, but you didn't have to do this. What're you, nuts??"  
  
He smirked again and shook his head. "I know how important that is to you."  
  
Roxy glanced down at the flower in her paws once more. It wasn't even very wet. She considered how much time had passed since she had lost it, and how far the boat had already been from the dock, but the numbers didn't make sense in her head. One thing did make sense to her though, as her gaze shifted to the hole.  
  
"Well…Taka, go! You'd better swim back before we get too far out! Go before it's too late!"  
  
Taka's expression softened a little, and he turned around to face the hole. He poked his head out just a little, and looked back towards where the dock was. Strangely, he didn't seem to be in a rush at all. He appeared completely calm, and stood there in silence for almost thirty seconds before saying anything.  
  
"No," he said with a quiet sigh, "It is too late already. Even I cannot swim that far."  
  
Roxy promptly stood up and bullied her way past him so she could look back at the dock. It was far in the distance at this point, and getting further away with every second.  
  
Stepping back, Roxy found that all she could do was look at Taka dumbly. The facts were all there, but they weren't sitting right in her head. What was happening before her right now didn't feel like it was real.  
  
"Taka…"   
  
He turned to face her. Roxy couldn't see an ounce of stress anywhere in his expression. He looked as calm as the waters they were currently sailing through. She couldn't tell if he was actually calm or not, though. She knew how well he wore his masks.  
  
"Taka, I'm so sorry…" she spoke softly. This was really happening, wasn't it? Letting her flower get blown off in the wind had inadvertently caused Taka to join her on this ship with no chance to get off until it docked in Kanto, whether he liked it or not!  
  
However, his smirk returned once more and he snickered at her. "Sorry for what?" he asked.  
  
Roxy blanked for a moment. "Taka…If we're too far out for you to swim back, then…then you can't go back. You won't be able to go back to Castelia. There isn't going to be a chance for you to get off until…" Her frown worsened. "Taka, we're going to another _continent_! Your…The forest is…"  
  
He looked back at her with a neutral expression.  
  
"Taka…Your home…"  
  
The larger Pikachu cast one last glance out the hole at the retreating harbor and shook his head. "Ah, well," he said, speaking remorselessly, "I wanted to see the world, did I not?" He regarded her. "Your home is part of the world, after all."  
  
Roxy stared at him for a few quiet moments as the pieces slowly fit themselves together in her mind. "So, you…" She spoke in a careful voice, as if admitting the truth would somehow change it. "You're…coming with me…?" She gulped past a lump in her throat. "…to Kanto?"  
  
When she looked up at him, it became all the more clear to her that there wasn't any regret to be seen on the stalwart Pikachu. If she looked closely, she could almost swear that he was smiling too. A smile of her own started to appear as she re-worded her question.  
  
"You…want to come with me to Kanto?"  
  
Taka chuckled softly. "It appears that way…"  
  
Roxy proceeded to squeal loudly with joy and leap right onto Taka, gripping him in the tightest hug she had ever given him. He was soaking wet, and doing this left her with quite a lot of damp fur, but she didn't care in the slightest.  
  
"Ah, hey…! Easy now…" Taka complained.  
  
Roxy simply squeezed tighter, almost as if she was afraid to let him go. She couldn't believe her own fortune. She didn't have to say goodbye! Taka was going to come with her to Kanto, which meant that he was going to come with her to Vermillion City!   
  
"Pet, come on. Stop this…"  
  
She lifted her head to look at him, but didn't release him from her hug. She wanted to say something to him, but wasn't sure how to get the words to come out. She had just ridden an extreme example of an emotional rollercoaster, and it left her somewhat dizzied. Things were so confusing and muddled in her head that she just decided to focus on what she knew for sure.  
  
Taka was staying.  
  
As her hug continued on and showed no signs of stopping, Taka grumbled softly and let out an exasperated sigh. Then, after a few more moments of silence, he spoke in a quiet voice. "I cannot deny…that I would have missed you too much." He placed one of his paws across her back, as a sort of halfway attempt at hugging her back. "You…are my friend, Roxy. I feel like, perhaps it is too soon to sever that tie…"  
  
Wow.  
  
This was too much.  
  
Roxy felt like she was about to just melt into a sappy little puddle of sunshine and rainbows. She sniffled, cursing the fact that she was crying yet again, and nodded her head vigorously. "I'm _so_ happy to hear you say that, Taka! It would hurt too much to lose a friend like you. I know it might not be exactly what you'd planned, but I promise that you're going to love my home. There's so much to see and do in Kanto, and I can show it all to you!"  
  
"Mm…" Taka mused softly, "I look forward to it…"


	34. Home

Roxy stood on the prow of the cruise ship, looking out at the seemingly endless expanse of ocean that surrounded her. The sea breeze was cool but not chilly, the sun was bright but filtered by clouds, and the smells of the ocean were nearly intoxicating. She wore the biggest smile. Roxy was having the time of her life.  
  
She had never been on a cruise before, but had always wondered what it would be like. So far, she was enjoying the experience. The ship was very large, offering an infinite number of places to explore. The other Pokémon passengers on board were all quite friendly, and Roxy had shared a truncated version of her adventure to many of them. There were entertaining shows, performed by both humans and Pokémon, and lots of fun activities that she took part in.  
  
The biggest and most amazing discovery had been the _food_. Roxy had been astonished to discover that the cruise ship offered an all-you-can-eat buffet to its Pokémon passengers! All any Pokémon had to do was walk in, point at what they wanted, and they got it! No-one even bothered to check that she was a real passenger, since many of the Pokémon were visiting the buffet without their owners.  
  
Roxy had nearly eaten Leppas until she exploded.  
  
It had been five days since the ship had left Castelia, and Roxy had heard that it would still be another day or two before they reached Vermillion. The sun was setting, casting a wonderful orange glow across the expansive sea. At the end of each day, this one included, the only thing that truly mattered was where this ship was taking her.  
  
Home.  
  
Home at last.  
  
This could have been a dirty prison boat filled with insane convicts and she wouldn't have cared, so long as it was taking her home.  
  
She stood there for another hour, watching as the sun slowly disappeared and was replaced by the stars in the sky. She felt like she could see the imaginary number getting smaller and smaller, counting the number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds that were left until she reunited with her master.  
  
Once the sun had truly disappeared and the temperature started to drop, she decided to retreat indoors. Unfortunately, the only real downside to their voyage was finding a good place to sleep. Most passengers slept in their assigned rooms, and obviously Roxy didn't have one of those. She didn't want to just sleep on the deck either, because that would just arouse suspicion.  
  
Roxy entered through the small doorway designed for smaller Pokémon and entered the inner hallways of the ship. She made her way down many carpeted halls, passing by the rooms of other passengers and other such amenities. She gave a friendly wave to other humans and Pokémon she passed by along the way, until eventually she reached her destination.  
  
Before her stood the door to one of the ship's storage rooms. While exploring, she had discovered that the lock on the door didn't work properly and she could nudge it open. There wasn't much being stored inside, meaning that few people would visit this room aside from when the ship was in port, making it the perfect place to hide out.  
  
So, when she was sure no-one was looking, Roxy quickly jimmied the door open and slipped inside. It was somewhat dark inside, but there were a few portholes offering a miniscule amount of natural light. Roxy manoeuvred her way past the boxes and other assorted things until she found the little hideaway where she had been spending the nights.  
  
As she climbed over the box that concealed this small hidden spot, she saw the collection of blankets that had been procured from elsewhere in the room. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it was better than lying on the cold metal floor. Presently, the blankets were all bunched up and forming a medium-sized pile in the corner.  
  
"Taka~" she called out in a gentle voice and made her way over to the blanket pile. She reached out a paw and gently shook it.  
  
"Urrrrghhhhh…" the blanket pile responded.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"You _know_ the answer…" the blankets replied grumpily.  
  
Roxy put on a sympathetic look and gently reached down to remove the blankets. Hidden underneath them was Taka, who was curled up and lying on his side with a grimace on his face. He looked quite pale and even a little green around his cheeks.  
  
Unlike her, Taka was _not_ handling the sea voyage very well. It had taken less than an hour on the ocean for him to get horribly seasick. He had managed to stomach a few short hours on the deck, but since then he had spent the entire trip curled up in the storage room and throwing up into the bucket that she was trying her best to avoid eye contact with.  
  
She really felt bad seeing him like this, but there wasn't a lot she could do about it. She should have expected it, considering the most seafaring Taka had ever done before this was bathing in a river, but then again she hadn't expected him to join her on board at all. Roxy's master's father had a small boat that the family sometimes took out on lakes or short trips on the ocean, so she had her 'sea-legs'.  
  
Roxy carefully reached over with her paw and slowly stroked his back, doing what little she could to help ease his discomfort. She knew what he was going through. While she didn't really get seasick, she did sometimes get _car_ sick.  
  
"Can I get you anything?" she asked him.  
  
"No…" he grumbled in a voice that sounded like death. It was quite jarring to hear and see Taka in an incapacitated state like this.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Just tell me when this torture will end…"  
  
She smiled regrettably and sighed. "We're more than three quarters of the way there. It's almost over."  
  
"Urrghhhhhh…"  
  
She rubbed his back some more. "I'm sorry you have to go through this."  
  
"This is the most challenging thing I have ever endured in my life…"  
  
Roxy paused for a moment, thinking about Taka's wild past as a warrior of the Thunder Clan. She was about to call him out on his hyperbole, but the more she thought about it the more she was inclined to agree with him. Taka had faced down predators ten times his size, and he had done it countless times to the point where it was easy for him. _This_ was something new, something difficult, and something that could not be overcome.  
  
"Well…" she said, "I guess we're _both_ really looking forward to the end of this boat ride."  
  
"Or death, whichever comes sooner…"  
  
"Oh shush, Taka. I said we're almost there. Trust me, you'll feel completely better once your paws touch the ground again."  
  
As she continued to rub his back, Roxy stared off into the distance as thoughts of home began to fill her mind. She too couldn't wait to set her paws upon the ground. It would be home, _truly_ home. Familiar ground that she had tread before. She was so excited, but she felt like she had burned through all of her excitement. Instead, she just felt a strong yearning and an eager expectation of what the near future would bring.  
  
She couldn't wait to see the look on her master's face.  
  
Of course, assuming her master was okay.  
  
A frown quickly spread across her face and she suppressed a shiver. Immediately she got to work pushing those negative thoughts out of her head. The truth was, she still had no idea what had happened to her or why she had ended up in the forest in the first place. She wanted to imagine that her master made it to Kalos just fine without her, but she truly didn't know. There were some scenarios that she could easily imagine where trouble would have struck the both of them.  
  
But, Roxy shook her head. She _knew_ she couldn't start thinking like that. Until she saw proof that something bad _had_ happened, she had to assume the opposite. It was better than panicking over a thousand possibilities.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to get you a Pomeg?" she asked, recalling his favourite fruit.  
  
"Do not mention food around me right now…"  
  
Roxy grimaced. "Sorry."  
  
"Living, land-dwelling creatures were not meant to spend this much time on the water."  
  
"Oh, stop your complaining," Roxy scolded him jokingly, "Human ingenuity is what is letting me get home at all, or I'd be trapped in Unova. If humans had to be known by only one thing, that would be their ability to create… Hey! I should show you the Vermillion Gym some time. It's got this cool electric puzzle that trainers have to solve!"  
  
Taka didn't reply to that, or at least not at first. After a couple of minutes, she saw Taka slowly lift himself up and rise to a sitting position. His seasickness still made him look beyond intoxicated, but he was at least able to sit up on his own.  
  
"Are you going straight home after this boat arrives?" he asked her.  
  
"Huh? Yeah, of course! I can't get home fast enough!"  
  
"Mm…" Taka slowly glanced away, and for a moment stared off at nothing.  
  
"What?" Roxy asked, tilting her head.  
  
He looked at her once more. "So, when exactly were you planning to show me this gym?"  
  
Roxy furrowed her brow, at first not understanding the question. "…Oh," she said a moment later as her ears drooped, "Uhh…I dunno…"  
  
"When you think about your future back home…you are picturing myself in it?"  
  
"I…Sorta, not really… I dunno, it was just a random thought," she mumbled, "You never really told me what you plan to do after you get off the boat, so I don't really know if…" She bit her lip and stayed silent for a moment.  
  
"I do not have…plans to come and live with you, Roxy," Taka stated flatly.  
  
Roxy sighed softly. "Yeah, I know. I never thought you would. I thought maybe you might stick around for a few more days or something, or stay in the city for a bit…" She then shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you want to do is fine, Taka. It's your choice. I know you want to explore."  
  
"Mm…"  
  
"But, just…" Roxy leaned in a little closer to him. "If you do go off exploring Kanto and whatever…could you promise to come and see me again once in a while? If we're on the same continent at least, then, y'know…"  
  
Taka looked at her in silence for a moment. Even through the sickness that clouded his eyes, Roxy could still see the calm, collected, somewhat wise eyes of Taka the warrior. It was the truth; she had never once imagined Taka coming to _live_ with her. He was a wild Pokémon warrior that thrived on adventure. The idea was laughable.  
  
"I think that is agreeable," he said with a nod.  
  
Roxy smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Mhm."  
  
After a minute of silence, Roxy spoke up again. "I, uh…do encourage you to at least check out Vermillion before running off. We've got a lot of cool stuff there!"  
  
She turned and gave Taka a hopeful smile, but it faded when she saw that Taka just had this glowering look on his face.  
  
"What?" she asked, "You don't _have_ to. It's just a suggestion."  
  
"No, no…" Taka said dismissively, but in a weird voice, "I am…"  
  
"You're what?"  
  
"I'm going to throw up again…"  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"Taka!!! Taka, Taka, Taka! Wake up!!"  
  
"Mnnghhh…"  
  
Roxy was jumping up and down next to Taka, who was sleeping under his pile of blankets. She was bouncing around so much, one might have thought she was made out of rubber. Taka groaned at having been awakened, and then sat up.  
  
"What…?" he murmured grumpily, rubbing one of his eyes with his paw. It seemed like Taka was finally starting to get his seasickness under control, to the point where he wasn't throwing up every couple of hours, but being on the boat still left him looking rather queasy.  
  
"Taka, come on! Get up!" she practically squealed, reaching down to grab his paw and pull him up.  
  
"What? Stop it," he said indignantly, wrenching his paw free from her grasp, "What's going on with you…?"  
  
Roxy, meanwhile, couldn't sit still. It felt like she was filled from ears to tail with fizzy soda pop. She could barely breathe properly with how excited she was. "Come on, Taka! You gotta come up on the deck and see!"  
  
"See what…?"  
  
This wasn't moving fast enough, so Roxy reached down for his paw again and this time succeeded in dragging him up onto his hind paws. To his credit, he only swayed a little bit.  
  
"We're here!!"  
  
Taka blinked, and it took a moment for the news to breach his intoxicated mind. "…Here? We have…arrived?"  
  
"Yes!!" Roxy exclaimed.  
  
"…This horrible ocean journey is over?"  
  
"Yes! Come on! Come look!!"  
  
It took some pushing and prodding to get Taka to move his tired body, but he eventually relented and allowed her to lead him out of the storage room and up onto the deck. As they stepped out of the door to the deck itself, Taka initially flinched from the bright light and the strong wind. Though it drove her insane to do so, Roxy stood for a few minutes with him so he could get used to it. Eventually, he actually started to look better, perhaps because of the fresh air or the scent of the sea. Roxy then wasted no time in leading him directly to the front of the vessel.  
  
They made their way to the passenger deck that extended just above and behind the bow, the furthest forward that passengers were permitted to go. Below them, the pointed front of the ship was cutting through the waves effortlessly, taking them to their destination. Looking up at the horizon, both Pikachu could see that destination was now visible in the distance.  
  
Vermillion City had never before looked so beautiful to Roxy's eyes. She was already crying.  
  
"That is your home?" Taka asked from beside her.  
  
Roxy sniffled, suddenly feeling emotionally overwhelmed. "Uh huh…!"  
  
Even though there was still quite a bit of ocean separating them from the city, Roxy felt like she could reach out and touch it. She had spent her whole life among those buildings, and now hadn't seen them for six long months. Every building, no matter how nondescript it actually was, looked like an amazing spectacle to her.  
  
"You made it home, Roxy," Taka commented, "Congratulations."  
  
"It…doesn't feel real. Pinch me. I might be dreaming…"  
  
"No, this is no dream, Roxy. Look upon that city in the distance, and view it as your greatest accomplishment. Even after exiting the forest and seeing that the distance was so much greater than you had imagined, you still made this happen." After a pause, he added, "I am proud of you."  
  
Any other time, Roxy would have been quite pleasantly surprised to hear such praise from Taka. Now, however, all she could think about was how close she was to home soil. How little time remained before she could truly be home again.  
  
"Master…" she whispered.  
  
"Where precisely do you live?" Taka asked, "In one of those really tall buildings?"  
  
Roxy giggled a little. "No, those are for businesses. I live right up there." She pointed with her paw, though it didn't accomplish much for how far the city was in the distance. "Right up there on the hill."  
  
"I see. I will accompany you while you return to your home."  
  
Roxy turned and gave him a surprised look.  
  
"It would do no good for you to come this far only for something to happen to you when you are so close to the end, hm?"  
  
"Ah, um…Yeah. I don't think anything will happen, though. I've walked these streets for years. I could probably get home blindfolded." She gave him a pleasant smile and added, "Thanks, though. I'd love to have you join me."  
  
"I am not going to approach your dwelling, however. I have no desire for your human family to catch sight of me."  
  
Roxy frowned at him. "Aww, really? Are you sure? I want to-"  
  
"No," Taka interjected, "Quite sure."  
  
She pouted for a moment, but found she simply couldn't stay upset for very long. Too many happy and excited emotions were welling up within her, and she soon found that she had already spent too much time looking away from the approaching city.  
  
It was still there on the horizon when she looked again, slightly closer now.  
  
Over the course of this crazy adventure, Roxy had encountered many things that had made her heart race like crazy. Most, though not all, were frightening memories of something horrifying that had happened to her. The way she felt now was similar, but she found it hard to describe all the same. Her life had changed so much and she had been thrown so many curveballs, that it had felt for a while like the universe wasn't going to _allow_ her to return to her normal life.  
  
Yet, there it was. Growing closer every second. Roxy would have happily jumped into the cold water and pushed the boat if it would have meant getting there faster.  
  
"Taka?" she spoke up, "Thanks again for everything you've done for me."  
  
"I appreciate your gratitude, but there is no need for any of that."  
  
"You told me that you indebted yourself to me for saving your life twice, but that's just silly compared to just how much I owe to you. I will _never_ be able to repay your kindness and your help."  
  
She caught a glimpse of him shaking his head. "That is why you will not. There is no need."  
  
Roxy just sighed softly and smiled at him. "You're a good friend, Taka."  
  
"You as well, Roxy."  
  
As the two lapsed into silence once more, Roxy found herself reflecting on the incredible journey she had gone through. Once her Poké Ball had deposited her in that forest, she had thought her life was over forever. It had felt like all but her beating heart had been taken away from her all at once, never to return. A brief spark of hope was all that had remained, and that had been the only thing that kept her safe from the predators.  
  
When that Zangoose, Kazaka, had cornered her and she thought that it was all over, Taka and Makari both appeared as if from the heavens above. Her life had been rescued from the bottom of the depths and, with the help of not only them but the entire Thunder Clan, had slowly been pulled back up to the light.  
  
What a ride it had been becoming a part of the Thunder Clan. She had the physical marks on her body to prove to the world what she had gone through. Yet, she still wore both her collar and her master's flower, the ties to her true home that had never been broken.  
  
From day one in that forest, Roxy had wanted nothing more than to get out and go home. No matter how nice the Thunder Clan had been in rescuing her, she had wanted nothing to do with them. Time went on, though, and fate kept her tethered to the tribe. In the end it turned out to have been a pleasant stay, for the most part anyway, and saying goodbye had been so much harder than she had imagined.  
  
Despite the nightmare that it was, so many wonderful things did in fact happen in that forest.  
  
She had fallen in love…  
  
Now, though it pained her in some ways, that was all behind her. She highly doubted she would ever return to the forest or see any of them again, so that chapter of her life was truly closed off for good. That was okay, though, because the memories would stay with her forever. Good and bad, they would always be a part of her from now on.  
  
Now, though?  
  
Now it was time to go home…  
  
  
  
…  
  
  
  
"It still doesn't feel real…"  
  
Taka chuckled dryly. "Believe it."  
  
"We…used to come to this park all the time," Roxy murmured, "We had picnics here…"  
  
As soon as the cruise ship had docked, and the two Pikachu had made a sneaky escape down one of the mooring lines, Roxy's innermost desires had told her to run home as fast as she could. Her experience, however, told her that until she _was_ home she still needed to be cautious. Instead, she and Taka had set off at a brisk but comfortable walk through the city, with Roxy leading the way.  
  
Taka had expressed a silent interest in the city, particularly the business and industrial part that they had crossed through to reach the residential area. As they started climbing the gentle grade, leading up to the street that Roxy called home, the city air around them slowly grew quieter and quieter.  
  
Roxy couldn't help but be excited, but she did her best to contain herself. She knew she would see her master again soon, but she was also acting as a tour guide for her own city. It made her feel strangely proud to show off Vermillion City to the curious Taka.  
  
"Ahh, I can't wait!" Roxy quietly squealed as she did a little hop of joy, "I can't wait to see master~!"  
  
Having left downtown Vermillion behind, the two were now walking through one of the city's quiet parks. Roxy was walking along a paved trail leading through it, which was surrounded on both sides by flowering bushes, while Taka walked next to her balanced on the path's curb. They were approaching a place where an open grassy area opened up on the right, before leading to a short path through the woods to the other side of the park. From there it was only a hop, skip and a jump away from Roxy's neighbourhood.  
  
"Whaddaya think so far?" Roxy asked to her companion.  
  
"It is…interesting," Taka answered as he glanced around, "I have always been somewhat intrigued by 'parks'. With all they change and create, humans also set aside areas where they touch very little."  
  
"Oh yeah, parks are great! They're a great way to relax, unwind, or get some exercise!"  
  
Roxy glanced up at Taka, still snickering at the way he chose to walk up on the curb like that. He was also still wearing the collar, and even Roxy had to admit that it did look a little strange on him. She silently hoped that he would have the foresight to keep it with him, even if he did not wear it all the time. Roxy had never given much thought to the capture of wild Pokémon before, but imagining Taka being captured by a trainer just sent shivers down her spine.  
  
It made her so thankful for the special relationship she shared with her master.  
  
A young human couple came strolling down the trail and walked past them, the girl glancing down at Roxy and remarking how cute she looked. Roxy smiled at the compliment, but she also noticed Taka tense up and briefly stop walking as the couple passed.  
  
Once they had gone and he resumed walking, Roxy frowned at him. "Taka? Do you think you'll ever be able to trust humans?"  
  
Taka didn't look at her and grimaced in response. "I have no answer for that."  
  
"Sorry," Roxy said, feeling a jab in her heart at her own insensitivity, "I didn't mean to upset you. You're probably right that humans as a _whole_ are not very trustworthy, but…Well, I mean, they're not all out to get you, y'know?"  
  
"Mm…"  
  
"I mean…I guess it's sort of like running through the woods. You meet friendly Pokémon, and you meet predators. With humans it's the same, only you can't tell just from looking at them. It's like a challenge, and I know you like a challenge…Right?"  
  
Taka just gave her an odd look.  
  
"Never mind," Roxy sighed.  
  
"No, I think your analogy is apt. I suppose that I have just always…erred on the side of caution with predators."  
  
"You just need to get to know some really nice ones." _Like my master,_ her mind added, and suddenly her bright and cheery mood was back. The pep returned to her step as she continued along the path, reaching the part with the open grassy area on the side.  
  
"Do you know where to go after this?"  
  
"Uh huh!" Roxy nodded. "Taka, I know this whole place like the back of my paw. I'm honestly surprised I haven't run into anyone I know yet. Lots of our friends and neighbours visit this park."  
  
"Is that so? The park seems rather quiet right now…"  
  
"Well, it's not the weekend, and it's the middle of the workday, so…"  
  
"It is probably for the better, anyway."  
  
"There's a few people here, though," Roxy said, seeing a couple of humans and a few Pokémon on the grass.  
  
Taka shrugged as he continued to walk. "I must admit it was strange seeing an…image of a Pikachu above that gym we passed, and it was so very large. It is like looking at a strange, gigantic reflection up in the sky… You mentioned there was a powerful Raichu who lived there?"  
  
He then stopped and turned around when he realized that Roxy was no longer walking next to him. "Roxy?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.  
  
She wasn't looking at him. She wasn't even listening at him. In fact, she was barely breathing. She had come to a complete stop, as her hind paws had stopped working properly, and was now standing there on the path staring. A numb sort of feeling came over her as her eyes focused intently on one particular area of this small park.  
  
There she was. Sitting right there on a park bench reading a book. She was _right_ there.  
  
Her master…  
  
"Roxy?" Taka spoke up again, returning to her and waving a paw in front of her face, "Are you okay?"  
  
She barely registered that he was even there. Her heart was caught in her throat as a churning mix of emotions swirled around inside of her. She was pretty sure that she was quivering and simply couldn't get a full breath in. She blinked multiple times, if only to prove to herself that what she was seeing was really there.  
  
Taka stepped up next to her and looked in the same direction as her. After a short pause, he turned to her and asked, "Is that her?"  
  
Roxy just numbly nodded.  
  
Once more, Taka glanced in the direction of the bench and then looked back at her. She was barely able to catch the small smirk that appeared on his lips.  
  
"So go to her," he said, "What are you waiting for?"  
  
Those last five words were what finally chiselled through to her malfunctioning brain, where they reverberated as if shouted through a megaphone. _What are you waiting for?_ What _was_ she waiting for?? Her master was there.  
  
_Her master was there!!_  
  
As if a fuse had been lit, a sudden surge of energy flowed through the little Pikachu, bringing with it the biggest smile she had ever worn in her whole life. She started to run forwards, and then ran faster. When that wasn't making her move quickly enough, she ran even faster. Tears streamed from  her eyes as she was soon running full tilt across the damp grass towards the park bench. As she ran, she opened her mouth and let out a wonderful, joyful cry.  
  
" _MASTER!!!_ "  
  
The young woman glanced up from her book, a slightly puzzled look on her face. She glanced around a bit in confusion.  
  
Roxy just continued to run. The relatively short distance between her and that bench was not very long, but to her it felt like the longest sprint of her entire life. She didn't let it stop her, though. Her heart hammered as her paws barely touched the grass.  
  
" _MASTER!!!_ "  
  
Finally, the girl turned towards the sound of her voice and the two made eye contact. A mystified sort of look clouded over the young human's eyes for a moment as her jaw slowly dropped. The book slipped from her hands and tumbled to the ground below, forgotten. She too blinked a couple of times, and then her eyes slowly grew wide.  
  
" _…Roxy?_ "  
  
"Master, I'm here!! I'm here!!!"  
  
" _Is it…really you…?_ " her master asked in disbelief, speaking in her own language, and holding a hand up to her heart.  
  
Once she was finally close enough, Roxy leapt high off the ground and dove directly towards the young girl. " _Master!!_ " she exclaimed, tears streaming from her eyes as time seemed to slow down for a brief moment.  
  
She was caught in her master's arms and immediately swept into a tight hug, which Roxy was very eager to return. From that first moment that the two made contact, and when she felt those loving arms holding her tight, she knew that this was real. This was truly happening. She had made it home. She had found her master.  
  
" _Roxy!!_ " her master exclaimed in both disbelief and joy. She squeezed the Pikachu even tighter and held her close enough that Roxy could feel the human's familiar body heat. Wet spots appeared on her neck and she realized that her master was crying too.  
  
Roxy buried her muzzle into the crook of her master's neck and held tight with her paws, genuinely afraid that, if she let go, then her master would be taken away again. She held herself so tightly to the human as if she were holding onto a cliff for dear life. Even this tight, warming embrace was not close enough. Roxy wanted to hold on like this forever.  
  
She wasn't sure how long the two of them sat there hugging each other in emotional silence. Roxy had never felt a sense of relief like this ever before. It was so powerful that it hurt, and all she could do was let it out through her tears of joy. She was shaking again, but that was okay. Her master was shivering too.  
  
Then, her master brought her hand up and rested it on the back of Roxy's neck, gently petting her fur. With it came that long sought-after sense of safety, security and care. Already, in the blink of an eye, all of her worries were gone. Everything was okay now, because she had finally found her master. Everything was perfect.  
  
Roxy finally pushed back from the hug once her lungs demanded a full breath of air, though she was reluctant to do so. She still remained in the cradle of her master's arms, and gazed up at the young girl's face with a quivering lip and a smile that reached both of her ears.  
  
" _Oh my gosh…! Roxy, is it really you?!_ " her master babbled, " _I…I can't believe this! It's impossible! It's…Oh, Roxy! Sweetie!_ "  
  
"Master!! I missed you so much!!"  
  
" _I…I…I really hope this isn't a dream. Not this time, please…!_ "  
  
Roxy shook her head and beamed. "It's really me, master! I'm here! I'm home!!"  
  
Her master leaned forward and gave Roxy another tight hug, though this one only lasted a few seconds. Roxy enjoyed every little moment of it nonetheless.  
  
" _Roxy! Oh my gosh, it's really you! You're here! I…We thought we'd lost you forever! We thought we'd never see you again! Oh, Roxy, I'm so happy to see you, sweetie!!_ "  
  
It only made Roxy even happier than she already was to see the joyful look on her master's face. She had known how much her master had been missing her over the months, but it was another thing altogether to see it. "Master…" she whispered, her voice quivering. "I'm sorry…!"  
  
A sense of guilt was starting to creep up on her. She felt really bad for making her master so sad by being away, even if it wasn't her fault at all. It hurt for a few moments, but soon she couldn't help but smile again. There were simply too many happy emotions that wanted to come bursting out.  
  
" _Roxy, what…what_ happened _to you?! This is incredible…_ "  
  
"I'm here now, master. I came such a long way, but I'm here…!"  
  
" _What happened to you? Where did you go? What's this stuff all over your-?_ " Her master then let out a sharp gasp of shock. " _Omigod! Roxy, what happened to your tail?!_ "  
  
Roxy cast a glance behind at her mangled tail, but even the sight of that wasn't enough to erase her smile.  
  
" _Oh you poor thing…_ " her master cooed, " _The pretty little heart is gone…_ "  
  
Shaking her head, Roxy placed her paws on her master's hands and looked her in the eye. "I don't care, master! It doesn't matter!"  
  
Her master glanced down at her for a moment, and then said, " _…I guess you're right. It could've been a lot worse. I'm just so glad you made it back!_ "  
  
And with that, Roxy was swept up into another quick but loving hug. She felt like she would never get tired of them.  
  
" _I saw you running up to me…I wasn't sure at first, because it seemed so impossible, but when I saw the collar and the flower, I knew it was you for sure!_ " Her master pet her on the head, and she could feel her smiling. " _You're still wearing them! After all this time out there…_ "  
  
When the hug ended and Roxy was placed upon her master's lap, she gazed up at the young girl with a perturbed look. "Master…" she spoke in a soft voice, "What happened to me? I still don't know…"  
  
" _Oh, sweetie…I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry!_ "  
  
Roxy tilted her head, confused as to what her master could possibly be apologizing for.  
  
" _We_ never _should have made you go into your Poké Ball for that flight. We knew you were worried, and truth be told we were worried too. Daddy and I were talking about trying to get you approved to sit in the cabin somehow, but the idea never really got rolling, and…_ " She bit her lip. " _If we hadn't…then this wouldn't have…_ "  
  
"Master…" Roxy put her paw on her master's hand again in a comforting gesture, and smiled up at her. "It's okay, master. It wasn't your fault, right? I don't blame you for anything."  
  
She then sighed. " _We landed in Kalos and went to the desk to pick you up, but they told us your Ball was missing. I couldn't believe it. I was devastated. Daddy was_ angry _! We stayed at that desk for hours trying to figure out what had happened to you, but no-one there knew what was going on. Eventually we bit the bullet and flew right back to the Saffron Airport._  
  
" _Eventually we…sort of figured it out. It was really just a theory, I think. The staff there said that, based on the circumstances and such, your Ball might have gotten mixed in with a shipment of empty Poké Balls that were on a different flight._ "  
  
Roxy shivered as she imagined herself, trapped in that little ball, getting mixed in with thousands of completely identical Poké Balls in a huge container.  
  
" _We were like, 'Great. Just tell us where it went and stop the shipment, or whatever, and we'll get you back,' but… They said that shipment was going to be split up and sent to all sorts of really remote places. Y'know, places deep in the jungle or on top of mountains, where it's hard to get Poké Balls. By the time we figured out what might've happened to you, the shipment was already separated and on its way…_ "  
  
A dark, pained look crossed over her master's eyes and she turned away as two tears rolled down her cheeks. " _Basically, you could have been_ anywhere _…_ "  
  
A strange feeling overcame the Pikachu. A weird, uncomfortable kind of relief upon finally learning what had happened to her. Her master's story had been frightening, and she could only imagine how helpless she and her father had felt.  
  
However, that _still_ didn't explain how she ended up in the middle of the forest with a broken Poké Ball. Roxy had a feeling, though, that no-one would be able to shed any light on that part of her adventure.  
  
" _We contacted all of the towns that were receiving the shipment, but none of them had found you…After that, there wasn't anything left to do. You were just…gone._ " More tears stated to run down her master's cheeks. " _I cried myself to sleep every night for a whole month. I love you so much, Roxy, and I missed you so bad!_ "  
  
"I love you too, master…!"  
  
" _You were gone for so long, Roxy! How long has it been? Like five or six months? What in the world happened to you?_ "  
  
Roxy smiled up at her master, just grateful to be in her presence once more. She wanted to speak up and tell her all of the wild and crazy things she had gone through, but she didn't because she knew it would mostly be a waste of time. Roxy knew it was a lot easier for her to understand her master's language than the other way around.  
  
" _Were you in Kanto somewhere? Or Johto?_ "  
  
Roxy shook her head.  
  
" _Were you even on this continent?_ "  
  
She shook her head again.  
  
Her master's eyes grew wide. " _You mean, you crossed the ocean to get home?_ "  
  
Roxy grinned and nodded proudly.  
  
" _Oh my gosh…Roxy, that's incredible! I can hardly believe it! You traveled all the way across the world just to get back to me…_ "  
  
"Of course I did, master!" Roxy perked up, "I would have gone double, triple or ten times that distance to get back to you! I missed you so much!! Every day without you hurt so much!"  
  
" _That's amazing, Roxy. Simply amazing._ " She then glanced down at the green markings on Roxy's fur once more. " _What are these things on you, Roxy? They look like…something Aboriginal._ " Her master studied her for a moment, during which Roxy proudly stood tall. " _Did you end up in the wilderness somewhere…?_ "  
  
Roxy nodded. "These are my Marks!" she said, though she knew it probably went right over the young girl's head. This part of her story, though very important to her, might have to wait until she could draw a picture.  
  
Her master gasped after she nodded. " _You ended up in the wilderness, with wild Pokémon?_ " When Roxy nodded again, she reached down and gently pet her on the back. " _Oh Roxy, that must have been so scary. Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this…But, you're here now. And you're in…_ mostly _one piece, so you must have managed to survive out there all on your own._ "  
  
At the mention of her tail, Roxy glanced back at it again and ended up chuckling. Somehow, it didn't even make her upset anymore. In some strange way, it was just another one of her marks. A sign of what she had gone through, and what she had triumphed over.  
  
She squeaked in surprise when her master reached down and picked her up for another warm hug, which Roxy eagerly reciprocated. She had always loved her master's hugs, but now they felt better than ever. As corny as it sounded, Roxy felt like she was being wrapped up in love. The love she shared with her master, and that her master shared with her.  
  
" _I'm so proud of you, sweetie,_ " her master whispered in her ear, " _I promise I'll never let you get lost ever again…_ "  
  
"I love you, master…"  
  
When they separated from the hug, Roxy remained cradled in her arms. Her cheeks were damp with tears now, but she didn't care. She had never felt this warm and happy inside in her whole life. She felt like she could be content resting in the arms of her master forever.  
  
" _How did you do it, Roxy?_ " her master asked, " _You've never had any Pokémon training, but you survived in the wilderness and made it all the way home!_ "  
  
Roxy's ears perked up. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I didn't do it alone, master! I had lots of help!" Then, in spite of her mindset not two seconds ago, she squirmed until her master let her go and she dashed over to the edge of the bench. She stood up with her front paws resting on the hand-rest of the bench, and scanned the park.  
  
"Taka!!" she shouted, "Taka?" Her eyes first went to the spot where she had first spotted her master, but Taka wasn't there anymore. She gazed around the area, but still couldn't see him. "Taka?!"  
  
" _What're you doing, Roxy?_ "  
  
"Taka, come on! Come out! I want you to meet my master!" Roxy continued to call, "I want her to know the reason I'm still standing here! Where did you go?" She ended up turning all the way around, taking in a full 360-degree view of the park, but Taka was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"…Please?" Her heart sank a little as she wondered if Taka had already left. He had finished his 'duty' by returning her to her master, so he could have decided to just head off on his own adventures. Roxy frowned, hoping that wasn't true. Even if Taka wanted to run off so quickly, he could have at least said goodbye…  
  
" _Roxy, are you looking for someone…?_ "  
  
The Pikachu sighed, her shoulders slumping a little. "Never mind…" she murmured. Of course things would turn out this way. Roxy knew she was cursed to have every positive moment of her life tainted by something negative in some way. It had been like that ever since she had woken up in the forest. It was just the way life had decided to treat her.  
  
"Well…So long, Taka…"  
  
Roxy then started to turn around and head back to her master, looking for more warm hugs. Right as she was turning her head, though, she just barely caught sight of something that made her pause. She leaned forward on the hand-rest once more and squinted, trying to focus on what she had seen. Had she imagined it?  
  
"Ah!! Taka!" she exclaimed, "There you are!!"  
  
She could just _barely_ see a few patches of yellow hidden in the bushes at the edge of the grassy area. The green paint on his fur helped him blend in alarmingly well, so much so that Roxy didn't blink because she was sure she would lose track of him if she did. A comforting sense of relief washed over her.  
  
"Taka, come on!" she called to him, "She won't hurt you, I promise! Trust me! _I'm_ more of a threat to you than she is! Come on, please? You know I couldn't have done this without you. I want my master to know! You deserve it, Taka!"  
  
Seconds ticked by, and for a while it didn't look like Taka was going to move. That suited Roxy just fine anyway, because if he didn't want to get out of the bushes then she was going to drag her master over _to_ the bushes.  
  
Then, finally, the bushes rustled and Taka darted out into the open. Roxy noticed that at some point, he had discarded the collar he was wearing. He stood there for a moment at the edge of the bushes, looking as if he was gauging the situation, and then started to approach her at a reserved pace. The whole time, he kept his eyes locked on the human sitting behind her.  
  
" _Oh? Who's this?_ " her master asked.  
  
Once Taka had reached the foot of the bench, Roxy turned around and hopped back into her master's lap. She then gestured towards the empty spot on the bench next to them, indicating that he should jump up.  
  
Taka was hesitating quite a bit. Roxy was proud of the fact that her master hadn't said another word, obviously having clued in to how skittish Taka was. It was a bit strange to see their roles entirely reversed, with Roxy now pushing Taka towards something that made _him_ nervous.  
  
With enough smiles and reassuring looks from Roxy, Taka finally got the courage to jump up onto the bench. He was standing more than an arm's length away from her master, and still standing tense like a coiled up spring that was ready to bounce away at the first sign of danger.  
  
If this were anything else, Roxy would have poked fun at how nervous Taka was. However, she knew his history with humans and didn't blame him one bit for being so cautious. She knew she had to take things slowly.  
  
"Master?" Roxy spoke up, tilting her head to look up at the human, "This is my friend Taka. He helped me get home!"  
  
Her master turned to regard Taka, but did nothing else. " _This is a friend of yours?_ " she spoke. Roxy saw her put on a gentle, reassuring smile. " _Hello, there!_ " she said softly.  
  
Taka may as well have been a rock, for how much he responded to this.  
  
Nothing happened for a few tense moments, as the three of them just sat there looking at one another. Then, Taka visibly jumped as her master moved her arm just a little bit. The young girl saw this reaction and froze in place.  
  
"Taka, it's okay," Roxy said, repeating herself, "She won't hurt you."  
  
Taka still hadn't taken his eyes off of the large human. When her master tried moving her arm again, Taka recoiled back slightly and got into a more defensive pose. Her master drew her hand back in.  
  
Roxy sighed. "Taka, c'mon now. You beat up an Ursaring like a week ago."  
  
"What is she doing…?" Taka spoke up, though Roxy could barely hear his voice. He still wasn't looking at her either.  
  
"She wants to pet you," she explained.  
  
"What…?"  
  
"You know…Pat you on the head? Rub your fur? It's how humans show affection, and it's a way for them to say hello to unfamiliar Pokémon."  
  
It didn't seem like any of her words had convinced him at all.  
  
Sighing again, Roxy turned to look up at her master once more. "Pet me first," she said, pointing to herself and then to her master's hand. It didn't take long for the girl to get the message, and she used the hand that was farther away from Taka to reach up and pet her gently on the head. Roxy smiled warmly at the gesture.  
  
"See?"  
  
Taka still looked quite tense. Roxy thought he looked like he was preparing himself to leap in and rescue her the moment her master's hand decided to turn evil and strangle her. She let her master pet her for a bit longer, and finally she started to see a tiny bit of relaxation in Taka's posture.  
  
"Now you, okay?" she said, "I promise you, cross my heart and soul, Arceus strike me down if I'm wrong…She will _not_ hurt you." She then looked up at her master once more and nodded. "Okay. Go ahead."  
  
When her master slowly started moving her hand towards Taka's head again, Taka visibly tensed up. He looked like he was preparing himself to endure torturous pain or something. Roxy maintained eye contact with him the whole time, trying to give him a comforting smile.  
  
The hand touched his head, ever so gently. Roxy saw all of the muscles in his body contract and his eyes shut tight for just a brief moment. When nothing horrible happened to him, he opened his eyes again and looked up at the human, who began to _very_ slowly pet him on the head.  
  
With every stroke of her hand, Taka visibly became more and more relaxed. A look of confusion seemed to spread across his face for a moment, and soon he was looking up at the human with reserved curiosity instead of fear.  
  
"See?" Roxy said with a giggle, "Gentle as a Jumpluff."  
  
" _Hello there…_ " her master said to Taka, " _You're a friend of Roxy's? It's nice to meet you._ "  
  
Taka still wasn't saying anything, but he was standing up straight on his hind legs now and letting the human's hand stroke across his head, ears and upper back. He didn't look like he was enjoying it, at least not from the outside, but he wasn't hating it either.  
  
"This is Taka," Roxy said, addressing her master, "He's from a village of Pikachu and other Electric-Types who live in the Aspertia Forest, and he's helped me with so much!" Again, she knew this went right over her master's head most likely, but she was mostly saying it for Taka's ears. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have made it home, master. Him and his wonderful tribe!"  
  
" _You still seem nervous…_ " her master said to Taka, and then paused with her hand resting on Taka's head. " _It's okay, I won't hurt you, sweetie…_ "  
  
Then, her master moved her fingers into different positions and Roxy knew already what was coming next. Taka looked confused, and even a little jumpy, again. He tensed up once more when her master started, his paw halfway to the weapon on his back, but it took only seconds for all of that tension to melt away.  
  
Roxy was jealous already. Her master gave the _best_ ear scratches.  
  
"What…is she doing…?" Taka murmured, seeming a little disoriented. Every single muscle in his body relaxed and his eyes even seemed to go a bit unfocused. Roxy had to laugh at this. In less than two seconds, Taka was completely disarmed. That was the humans' secret weapon.  
  
" _There we go!_ " the young girl said as she continued to scratch behind Taka's ears. She took advantage of his mellowed state and shifted a little bit closer to him on the bench. " _Hmm…_ " she said as she leaned down to examine him, " _Are you a wild Pokémon? You have no collar…_ "  
  
She fell silent for a moment, and Roxy could see that her eyes were drifting over the green paint that was adorning his fur. " _You have them too! What is all of this? It looks like…sort of looks like tribal markings…And what is this thing on your back…?_ " She glanced back towards Roxy. " _Good heavens, what in the world have you been through?_ "  
  
Roxy chuckled dryly.  
  
Her master removed her hand, and Roxy glanced over to see that Taka looked like he was in bliss. His eyes were closed and he looked completely relaxed, which was something she had _never_ seen on him before. Once he realized the scratching had stopped, he quickly came back to the real world and shook his head.  
  
"Enjoy that?" Roxy asked.  
  
"Shut up," he replied, and Roxy snickered.  
  
" _Roxy, did he help you get back home?_ " her master asked, recapturing her attention. When Roxy nodded, she turned to Taka with a smile on her face. " _In that case, thank you so much. You have no idea how happy I am to have my little Roxy back safe and sound!_ "  
  
Taka turned to Roxy and gave her an inquisitive look. It was clear that, even though he was familiar with the human language, he was far less advanced in it than Roxy was.  
  
"She's thanking you for helping me," Roxy translated.  
  
Taka simply turned to look up at the human again and curtly nodded his head, making Roxy roll her eyes.  
  
"Are _you a wild Pokémon? Do you have a trainer?_ "  
  
Roxy shook her head. "Nope! He's wild!"  
  
" _A wild Pokémon…? So that means you must have met him…when you…_ " Her master gasped. " _Does this mean he crossed the oceans with you?_ "  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
" _He came all this way with you? He helped you get home, even though it's so far away?_ "  
  
Roxy nodded, and gave Taka a grin.  
  
" _That's amazing! How selfless. You must be a really kind Pokémon under that tough exterior. Thank you again so much for bringing Roxy home. I just can't thank you enough!_ " She glanced down and caught Roxy's eye. " _I want to give him a hug, but I get the feeling he might not like that so much._ "  
  
Roxy snickered and then giggled. "That's okay, master!" she said, and then immediately dashed over and pounced on Taka, giving him a big hug.  
  
"Ack! Hey!" Taka protested, "Would you explain what's going on…?"  
  
"You're awesome, Taka! That's what's going on!"  
  
"Er…"  
  
When Roxy broke away from the hug, she found that all of her bubbly, happy feelings were returning. Like a second wave, she felt that rush of relief and joy that she was finally back home and with her master again. She couldn't help but scamper over and give her master another hug as well.  
  
" _Oh, sweetie! I'm happy to see you too!_ " her master said, " _This is the happiest day of my life…_ "  
  
"Me too!!"  
  
" _You've been through a lot, Roxy…but now you're safe. We'll get you home, sit on the couch with a couple of nice warm blankets, eat some cupcakes and Poké Puffs…_ "  
  
There were stars in Roxy's eyes as she listened to her master list all of the creature comforts she had missed so dearly. Just picturing her nice warm house, with the comfy couch and the yummy food, was enough to make her quiver in anticipation. Her _bed_! Roxy couldn't wait to spend a night in her comfy little bed.  
  
She gasped. She would get to have _a real bath!_  
  
" _Oh my gosh!_ " her master exclaimed, gasping as well, " _We gotta get you home so daddy can see that you're okay!_ "  
  
"Desmond!!" Roxy squealed. She couldn't wait to see him again as well.  
  
" _Yes, Roxy! Desmond is home right now! What're we sitting around here for? Let's go!_ " The young girl gave Roxy a quick squeeze, still holding her in a hug, and then started to stand up.  
  
She paused halfway through, and both of them remembered that Taka was still there. Roxy turned her head to look at him, and saw that he looked strangely at ease. He was looking at her, or rather looking at the two of them, with a contented sort of look of realization. He looked as if some great question had finally been answered to him.  
  
"Taka?" Roxy called to him.  
  
"…Mm?"  
  
"You all right there, buddy?"  
  
Taka's facial expressions seemed to soften, something Roxy hadn't really seen since not long after Makari had died. He let out a slow breath of air, and then said, "Nothing. I'm fine."  
  
Roxy's enthusiasm simmered down a bit as she realized the question of 'What now?' was hanging in the air. Was it truly time to say goodbye to Taka now? He hadn't even planned on being present when she reunited with her master, but they hadn't planned on finding her in the park. Roxy was itching to get back home, and her master was ready to take her there right away. With a heavy heart, Roxy realized that it was probably time to say farewell to her friend.  
  
Before she could, however, her master spoke up instead. " _What about you? Are you coming with us?_ "  
  
Both Roxy and Taka turned their heads up to look at her curiously.  
  
Her master was smiling warmly. " _You can if you want. That's totally fine._ "  
  
Roxy turned back to Taka with her eyebrows raised, unsure of how the other Pikachu would react to this invitation.  
  
Taka looked like he hadn't expected this at all and was slightly caught off-guard. Roxy figured that his answer would probably be 'no', but truth be told she was secretly hoping otherwise.  
  
"I…" Taka murmured.  
  
" _You've come such a long way with Roxy,_ " her master continued, " _You aren't just gonna part ways now after everything, are you?_ "  
  
Taka glanced at Roxy, confused. She gave him a brief summary of what her master had said.  
  
" _If nothing else, I've gotta give you something nice as thanks for helping Roxy. I can get daddy to cook some yummy food for you._ "  
  
Again, Roxy relayed this information. "I dunno what you wanna do, Taka," she added at the end, "but…Desmond's cooking? Trust me, you'll be impressed."  
  
"…"  
  
"It's up to you, Taka…but I gotta admit, a big part of me doesn't want to say goodbye yet…"  
  
"Roxy…" Taka murmured, sounding slightly irked.  
  
" _It's okay,_ " her master spoke, " _I know I can trust you. You helped Roxy, after all. And don't worry, we're not gonna try to catch you or anything._ " After a pause, her master turned to Roxy and added, " _Speaking of which, where's your Poké Ball?_ "  
  
Roxy grimaced, and mimed the act of breaking something in half with her paws.  
  
" _Oh dear! We'll have to get you a new one right away!_ "  
  
This made Roxy grin. Even though she hated Poké Balls, it was the symbolism of the act that she cared about. Being registered to a Poké Ball was one of the biggest things that connected her with her family, and it had been bugging her that this link had been broken.  
  
Her master then stood up with Roxy in her arms, clearly getting anxious to get back home as well. " _So?_ " she said, turning to Taka once more, " _You wanna come? Again, you're more than welcome!_ "  
  
Taka's eyes shifted around for a bit, his brow furrowed. Roxy gasped softly, seeing that he was actually being indecisive about this proposal. "Come on, Taka!" she encouraged, "You know it doesn't have to be forever or anything."  
  
He gave her a sidelong glance.  
  
"I'd really like it if you came along…"  
  
He then glanced at the ground. "Roxy, I…"  
  
"Let…Let me show you my home…"  
  
Taka looked up at her one more time, and then sighed softly as a reflective look appeared on his muzzle. It seemed like a thousand thoughts were going through his head, none of which Roxy was privy to.  
  
Then, he gave her a smirk, though it was decidedly less smirk-like than usual and closer to a smile. "Sure," he said with a nod, "Why not?"  
  
Roxy smiled brightly. "Yay!" she cheered, "Awesome! Well, come on then! Let's get going! You wanna ride up here? Master can carry us both!"  
  
Taka gave her a flat look.  
  
"…Or, you can walk behind. Y'know, whatever."  
  
" _You wanna come with us, huh? Okay, then!_ " her master said, and then leaned towards Taka. He flinched from her extending arm briefly, but then stood still and allowed her to pet him a couple of times. The young girl then fully stood up, still cradling Roxy protectively in her arms.  
  
"Let's go!!" Roxy cheered excitedly, giving her master an eager look.  
  
She laughed. " _I know, I'm excited too! Let's go see daddy!_ " She glanced over her shoulder and gave Taka a toss of her head. " _Follow us!_ "  
  
Taka nodded, and then they finally set off. Her master didn't run, but she did walk rather quickly and there was an excited pep in her step. Roxy grinned eagerly as they headed down the path, knowing that it led to streets that would lead to more streets, eventually leading to the house that she so dearly missed.  
  
Roxy turned to look behind her and saw that Taka had to run to keep up, but he didn't seem to mind. It brought a certain, unique kind of joy to see that he was still sticking around with her, even though she didn't know ultimately how long it would last. For the moment, it was nice to see these two worlds that she now belonged to coming together like this.  
  
She eeped softly as her master surprised her with another tight hug as she ran. Roxy squealed and nuzzled herself into the warmness of the hug, relishing in the familiar feel and scent of the human she had missed so much. Roxy guessed that the smile she wore would not be going away for a long while.  
  
"Welcome home, Roxy…" her master whispered into her ear.  
  
Roxy sighed happily, gazing out at the familiar city that lay before her. She was as happy as she could possibly be, and eternally grateful that things had finally turned out okay. She looked upwards, seeing the fluffy clouds covering the endless blue yonder above. She held her gaze there for a moment in silence, then closed her eyes and rested her head contently. She whispered soft words that only those who were truly listening would be able to hear.  
  
It would probably be a long while before she felt comfortable taking a long-distance vacation again, but that was fine. She didn't plan on leaving home for a long while.  
  
Her smile grew even wider as she sighed in contentment one more time.  
  
_Home…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everybody who read along, I really hope you enjoyed this story. I spent a long time working on it, and I'm super proud of it. This is the largest Non-MLP story I have ever written...and also straight up THE largest story I've ever written. I am so happy I was able to make it through to the end and complete Roxy's story.
> 
> Roxy was named after a family pet who passed away a couple years ago. She was a Black Labrador X Golden Retriever X ??? dog who was insane, but we loved her so much. 
> 
> Infinite thanks to ArtyLovr for her pre-reading and editing. Go find her on Tumblr before the site crashes and burns completely. She draws the pokeymans.
> 
> Finally, if you enjoyed what you read, please share. Sharing this story with others is the number one most important way to help me out.
> 
>  
> 
> ~GB


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